Luke List rolled in a monster 43-foot birdie putt to claim victory in a five-way playoff at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday.
The 38-year-old American snatched only the second PGA Tour victory of his career in a dramatic finale at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi.
Third round pace-setter Ben Griffin – who led by three shots after Saturday’s third round – fluffed the chance to claim his first PGA Tour win after making a bogey on the 18th that set up the playoff.
The 27-year-old from North Carolina saw his par putt on the 18th just curl around the cup, leaving him with a closing two-over-par 74.
Griffin, who gave up golf in 2021 to work as a loan officer before returning to the sport, advanced to the playoff alongside List, Scott Stallings, Ludvig Aberg and Henrik Norlander.
All five players finished level on 18 under after four rounds, the first time the PGA Tour has seen a five-way playoff since 2017.
The quintet returned to the par-four 18th hole for the playoff, and all reached the green in two.
But with the tension mounting it was List who rose to the occasion, rolling in his long birdie putt with his four rivals only managing pars.
WHAT A PUTT!
Luke List drains it from distance for the win @Sanderson_Champ ? pic.twitter.com/KdIlrAjS57
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 8, 2023
“It’s been a full rollercoaster, you know?” List said afterwards. “I thought I played really well all day and just hung in there. I didn’t think it was going to be enough, but here we are.”
List had forced his way into contention after shooting a closing two-under-par 70, with two birdies and seven pars on the back nine ultimately enough to set up his shot at glory in the playoff.
But while List celebrated, Griffin was left reflecting on a victory that had gone begging.
“My name was on top of the leaderboard for a good chunk of the tournament,” Griffin said. “But it’s a 72-hole tournament every single week, and it really doesn’t matter what happens until the final scores get posted on Sunday.”
Griffin admitted he had been affected by nerves during the round.
“Obviously there’s nerves. It’s Sunday. Your body always feels different on Sundays.
“It’s hard closing out on the PGA Tour, and I should have got it done. It’s a bummer. But I’ll be back.”
South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout missed the playoff by one shot after a final-round 68 saw him finish on 17 under (T6).
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Raj Mehta/Getty Images
