JACKSON, Miss. — Baylor School graduate Luke List made an unforgettable golf memory when he won the Farmers Insurance Open in January 2022 for his first victory on the PGA Tour, beating Will Zalatoris on the first extra hole at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
PGA Tour win No. 2 for List should prove pretty memorable, too, no matter how many more might follow.
List won when he least expected it, getting into a five-way playoff Sunday at the Sanderson Farms Championship and ending it quickly with a birdie putt from just inside 45 feet. The 38-year-old former Red Raiders and Vanderbilt standout is now 2-for-3 in playoff opportunities on the PGA Tour, having fallen short against Justin Thomas on the first extra hole at the 2018 Honda Classic.
This playoff would not have been possible if not for Ben Griffin struggling down the stretch at the Country Club of Jackson. Griffin missed an eight-foot par putt on the final hole.
That gave a chance to List, fellow American player Scott Stalling and Sweden's Ludvig Aberg and Henrik Norlander, all of whom returned to the par-4 18th hole alongside Griffin. None looked to have a reasonable birdie chance until List poured in his putt and slammed his fist in celebration.
List closed with a 2-under 70 and missed a birdie chance from just inside 10 feet on the final hole, giving away his cap to a fan because he figured that would be the last hole he played.
"It's been a full roller coaster," List said. "I hung in there. I didn't think it was going to be enough, but here we are. It's been a crazy 20 minutes."
Griffin had a birdie putt in the playoff from about 35 feet and slapped his left knee when he realized it was going to miss on the low side. This was his tournament to win: He started the final round with a three-shot lead and was up by two shots with three holes to play.
But he went from the right rough to long and right of the 16th green, chipping to some 20 feet and missing the putt to take bogey. Still with a one-shot lead, he was in the left rough when he pulled his approach to the 18th hole near the grandstands. He chipped eight feet by the hole, and his par putt for his first PGA Tour win grazed the right edge of the cup.
"I hit the wrong shot at the wrong time," Griffin said of his approach into the 18th in regulation. "I needed to keep it low with the wind up there, and I chose a club that I was hitting it high. I wish I had maybe taken a bit more time and really thought through the shot.
"It's a bummer. I thought I was going to still be able to get it done today."
Griffin had gone 44 holes without a bogey until making one on No. 8, and it was a wild ride the rest of the way. He closed with a 74 and finished with the other four playoff entrants at 18-under 270 for 72 holes.
Norlander, also going for his first PGA Tour title, briefly had the lead until he hooked his approach on the par-5 14th into the water and made a bogey, then pulled his approach on the 17th and wound up missing a 12-footer for par. He closed with a 70.
But he had the last chance to extend the playoff, putting from off the green on the 18th about 20 feet away. It had too much pace and was off line.
Stallings also closed with a 70, getting up and down for par from left of the 18th green to keep alive his chances. In the playoff, he was just over the back of the green but had a tough putt through the fringe and a ridge from just outside 30 feet.
Aberg, casual as ever, was at a table when he finished his round of 68. Given a surprise chance, he pushed his approach to the 18th in the playoff well to the right to some 55 feet. He lagged it just left of the hole and it looked as though he would get another chance until List made his improbable birdie putt.
"To be fair, I thought whenever I was on the golf course that 18 (under) wasn't going to make it," Aberg said. "It ended up the way it did, and I was very fortunate for that. But congrats to Luke for that last putt. It was unbelievable. Kudos to him."
List — one of four Baylor graduates on the PGA Tour, along with Harris English, Stephan Jaeger and Keith Mitchell — had not finished in the top 10 since his first triumph, and he stopped playing in the middle of July to cope with injuries to his thumb and his foot.
Now the Augusta resident is headed back to the Masters, and he will start the new year in Hawaii at the winners-only Tournament of Champions.
The final hour was so unpredictable that two others also had a chance to win. Mark Hubbard stood over a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to take the lead. He three-putted for bogey, took a bogey on the final hole and shot 67 to miss the playoff by one shot.
Carl Yuan was seemingly out of it until he holed out on the fly for an eagle on the 17th hole, putting him one shot behind Griffin. But he came up well short of the 18th hole, made a bogey and closed out a 72 to miss the playoff by one shot.
Jaeger closed with a 66 and tied for 25th at 11 under. Mitchell missed the cut on Friday, while English did not play the tournament.
AP photo by Rogelio V. Solis / Luke List holds the winner's trophy after the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday in Jackson, Miss.
Quigley's wait over
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Brett Quigley had to work a lot harder than he imagined Sunday to win again on the PGA Tour Champions. He recovered from a shocking double bogey with four closing pars for a 1-under 71 and a one-shot victory in the Constellation Furyk & Friends.
The stress from that double bogey on the par-3 14th at Timuquana followed him all the way to the 18th hole, where Quigley had to make a sharp-breaking seven-foot par putt to avoid a playoff with Steven Alker.
Now 54, Quigley posted his first victory on the 50-and-older tour more than three years ago in Morocco during his second start on the senior circuit. He had to wait 79 starts for the next victory.
Quigley finished at 11-under 205 and earned $315,000. Alker closed with a 68.
Steve Stricker, coming off a week in Rome as an assistant captain for the losing U.S. team at the Ryder Cup, finished outside the top 10 for the first time this year. He went backward early and could only salvage a 73 to tie for 15th, but he still has a commanding lead in the Charles Schwab Cup.
Status upgraded
NEWBURGH, Ind. — France's Paul Barjon had a big weekend at the right time, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot victory at 14-under 274 in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to move him into the top 30 of players who earned PGA Tour cards for 2024.
Barjon came into the final event of the year the developmental circuit at No. 45 on the points list, and then he shot 64-68 to secure his card.
Shad Tuten thought his 74 was going to be just enough to finish in the top 30. But after his round, video showed he took an improper drop in the 15th fairway, and he was assessed a two-shot penalty. That dropped him to a 76, and he fell outside the top 30.
Rafael Campos missed a birdie putt on his final hole and was in tears. He was at No. 31 but moved to No. 30 when Tuten was penalized.
Ben Kohles locked up No. 1 on the points list, giving him a spot in The Players Championship and the U.S. Open next year.
Easily seals deal
THE COLONY, Texas — South Korean player Hyo Joo Kim started the final round with a five-shot lead and didn't give anyone much of a chance, closing with with a 2-under 69 to win The Ascendant LPGA by four shots.
It was the second straight week for a wire-to-wire winner on the LPGA Tour, following Hae Ran Ryu in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Kim finished at 13-under 271 and earned $270,000, moving her past $2 million for a year for the first time in her career. Bianca Pagdanganan, the big hitter from the Philippines, closed with a 65 to tie for second with Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, who also shot a 65.
Lexi Thompson could only manage a 70 in her final found on the LPGA Tour before she tests her game at a PGA Tour event in Las Vegas starting Thursday. The American player finished six shots behind in fifth place and never seriously challenged Kim.
Rain won't go away
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Heavy rain caused play at the Dunhill Links Championship to be abandoned again.
It was the second straight day that no competition was possible at the DP World Tour event held across three of Scotland's great courses: Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and the Old Course at St. Andrews.
The third round was pushed back to Monday and will be the final round as the 72-hole event is trimmed to 54.
England's Matt Fitzpatrick was the 36-hole leader at 13-under 131 after a 5-under 67 at Carnoustie and an 8-under 64 at Kingsbarns, one shot ahead of both Scotland's Grant Forrest and Spain's Nacho Elvira.