J.T. Poston got the better of Ryan Gerard in a play-off to earn the most significant victory of his career so far at The Memorial Tournament.
The 33-year-old American came into the final round of the Jack Nicklaus-hosted event at Muirfield Village firmly in the driving seat having had a four-shot advantage at the top of the leaderboard after a storm-affected third round. However, that lead dissipated in dramatic fashion with three bogeys in five holes which opened the door for the chasing pack, featuring the likes of fellow Americans Gerard, Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and England’s Tommy Fleetwood, all of whom battled it out for the lead alongside Poston.
Nerves were seemingly getting the best of Poston in the final round as any chance of victory looked to be gradually slipping away, but he managed to compose himself and respond with an 18-foot birdie at the 14th to retake the lead. Then came Fleetwood who briefly surged to the top of the leaderboard with a sublime eagle at the 15th as he searched for his first victory of the season. However, the the rest of the contenders ensured they weren’t out of the picture just yet as Burns, Poston and Gerard all birdied the hole, leaving a four-way tie at the top setting up a dramatic conclusion.
Fleetwood was only able to backup his eagle with a bogey on the following hole which all but squashed his chances. Burns also effectively put himself out of the running at the 17th after finding the bridge and failing to save par while Clark failed to reach the totals of both Poston and Gerard as the pair ended on 12 under to force a play-off.
The duo returned to the 18th and they could not be separated on the first attempt at they both made pars. But at the second time of asking, Gerard buckled by three-putting from 60 feet and then failing to convert a six-foot birdie putt. This cleared the way for Poston who calmly sunk his three-foot putt to clinch his fourth PGA TOUR title and first since October 2024.
“That was a lot of holes and a lot of grit,” Poston said afterwards. “I didn’t play my best over the first 13 holes but I knew I was going to shake Jack Nicklaus’ hand walking off the 18th green and I wanted to be proud of that handshake, regardless of how it turned out.
“I’m thrilled it happened this way.”
The congested leaderboard saw Clark end on 11 under to finish in solo third and Burns and Fleetwood in a share for fourth on 10 under.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was seeking to match Tiger Woods’ record of winning three successive titles at the same event, finished in a share for 12th alongside world No. 2 Rory McIlroy and England’s Justin Rose.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the RBC Canadian Open taking place between 11-14 June at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Ontario.