We've seen some dramatic finishes on the PGA Tour lately; both majors have been memorable - Justin Thomas' extra time success at the US PGA Championship and Matt Fitzpatrick's bunker shot at the 18th in the US Open at Brookline will live long in the memory. The aforementioned Thomas and Rory McIlroy's ding-dong battle at the Canadian Open last month was a cracker too, but last week's John Deere Classic was far from a thriller.
Having layed the eventual winner, JT Poston, at odds-on as early as Friday, it wasn't a great result financially, but it was as a dull as it gets on the PGA Tour yesterday with nobody fancying any sort of stern challenge.
Poston, a pre-event 50.049/1 chance, led after each of the first three rounds, and having begun the final round trading at around 2.111/10 with a three-stroke lead, he couldn't have started his fourth any better, with birdies at each of the first three holes.
With two of his three closest pursuers, Denny McCarthy, and Scott Stallings - the only two players trading at single-figure prices before round four - starting slowly, Poston was soon trading at long odds-on.
McCarthy played his first three holes in one-over-par and having birdied the easy par five second, Stalling bogeyed both the fourth and fifth holes. McCarthy traded at no shorter than 5.59/2 and Stallings hit a low of 4.03/1.
Emiliano Grillo, a pre-event 70.069/1 chance, who had begun the round tied for second alongside McCarthy and Stallings, played his first four holes in two-under-par and he looked to have a squeak when he got to within two when Poston bogeyed both the fifth and sixth holes.
Grillo then made a straightforward two-putt birdie four at the par five 10th to close the gap to just one and he was matched at a low of 2.47/5 as Poston continued to make par after par, but the Argentine's challenge fizzled out tamely with bogeys at the par three 12th and the drivable par four 14th.
Poston cruised to victory after that, picking up a birdie at the par five 17th to win by three. It was impossible to crab his performance and it's never easy to win wire-to-wire (Joaquin Niemann at Genesis Invitational is the only other to achieve the feat this season), but it couldn't possibly be described as an exciting finale.
Poston is the fifth 54-hole leader in-a-row to convert on the PGA Tour
Over on the DP World Tour, pre-event 40.039/1 chance, Adrian Meronk, who was matched at a high of 60.059/1, began the final round of the Irish Open leading by a stroke and he started round four nicely enough with birdies at two and four, though he cooled off after that, playing his next ten holes in level par, with a bogey at the sixth and a birdie at the tenth.
Scotland's David Law, the 2020 winner, John Catlin, Norway's Espen Kofstad, and my pre-fourth round 29.028/1 pick, Tristan Lawrence, all made a move, but it was the 2018 runner-up, Ryan Fox, that looked the most likely winner as he scythed his way through the field with a spectacular run on the back-nine.
Fox was cruelly denied victory at Ballyliffin when Russell Knox holed monster putts in both regulation and the playoff to take the title after the Kiwi had been matched at a low of 1.111/9 to win, whilst prior to yesterday, he's already suffered unexpected defeats in a couple of other DP World Tour events this year.
Fox was matched at a low of 1.331/3 at the Soudal Open in May when he went three clear during the fourth round and he looked home and hosed at the Dutch Open when his price dipped to 1.021/50 before he double-bogeyed the last.
He still looked the most likely winner in the Netherlands but Victor Perez holed some huge putts in regulation play and in extra time to deny him. He certainly hasn't had much luck of late but he looked like he might finally catch a break on Sunday after he hit the front.
Having played his first 16 holes in seven-under-par, Fox eagled the 17th to go two shots clear and he was matched at a low of 1.695/7 after he'd found the fairway on 18, but having stewed for several minutes while his playing partner, Matti Schmid, got a ruling, he pulled his approach with his seven iron long and left off the green. After taking a free drop from up against the stand, he failed to get up-and-down for par, and the door was ajar.
Lawrence was matched at a low of 3.211/5 when he birdied the 17th to draw alongside Fox but he too bogeyed the 18th before Meronk finished with a wet sail to take the title in style with birdies at 15 and 16, followed by an eagle at 17.
Meronk, who is the first Pole to win on the DP World Tour, has been knocking on the door for some time and it was great to see the likable 29-year-old make his breakthrough.
"It's such a relief, to be honest," said Meronk after his win. "I've been coming quite close a couple of times this year and to finally open the door is just a dream come true. That's why we practice every day and I'm super happy."
With the Open Championship now just over a week away, we've got the Barbasol Championship and the Scottish Open to enjoy this week and I'll be back soon with the previews.
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