{"id":39134,"date":"2017-08-07T05:05:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-07T05:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=39134"},"modified":"2017-08-07T05:05:13","modified_gmt":"2017-08-07T05:05:13","slug":"goydos-wins-3m-championship-first-playoff-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/golf\/goydos-wins-3m-championship-first-playoff-hole.html","title":{"rendered":"Goydos wins 3M Championship on first playoff hole"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goydos wins 3M Championship on first playoff hole<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

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Paul Goydos had just enough club to win the 3M Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the first hole of Sunday’s playoff with Gene Sauers, Goydos was 177 yards away on the par-5 18th hole. Knowing Sauers put his second shot into the lake fronting the green, Goydos just had to get the ball on the putting surface.<\/span><\/p>\n

Goydos, who shot a tournament-record 60 Saturday, would normally hit a 5-iron, but with a downhill lie and knowing it was safe behind the green, he pulled out his 4-iron and hit it thin.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I thought it’d carry by more than it did, that may have been because of the heavier air,” he said. “The 4-iron was the right club to hit. It just didn’t quite catch.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The ball cleared the hazard by less than a yard and bounced to the back of the green. Two putts later, Goydos was a PGA Champions Tour winner for the first time this year and fifth time overall. It is his third top-10 in 16 events this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

“They’re all special, but the last one always seems to be the most special,” said Goydos, who made his tour debut at this event in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking at 191 yards to the front of the green and about seven more to the hole, Sauers, who hit a tour-record 53 of 54 greens in regulation, went with a familiar club.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Hit 5-iron previous in regulation and so it was plenty of club,” he said. “I just kind of came out of it a little bit.”<\/span><\/p>\n

It is the second playoff Sauers lost this year. He’s 0-4 in his career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kevin Sutherland shot 64 to tie for third with Steve Stricker (66) and Brandt Jobe (67), two shots back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scott Verplank was three back after a 66. Wes Short, Jr. shot a 10-under 62, and was among a quartet of golfers finishing four shots back. That group included Kenny Perry, a co-leader with Goydos and Sauers entering the day. He shot 70.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eleven players were within three shots beginning the round and 16 within four on a course known for its low scores thanks to wide fairways and soft, but fast, greens. In three rounds, the 78-player field recorded 1,105 birdies, beating the old tournament record by one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early on the back nine, the tournament had the appearance of a two-man race as Goydos and Sauers led by three shots.<\/span><\/p>\n

“They were just kind of feeding off each other all day,” Perry said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, neither could secure the win down the stretch in regulation.<\/span><\/p>\n

After a 62-minute weather delay, Goydos and Sauers stood on the 14th tee at 19-under. Each recorded four straight pars, before birdies on 18 to force an extra hole.<\/span><\/p>\n

An eagle on 18 would have put Stricker, 3-under over his last six holes, in a playoff. He recorded par after hitting his second shot over the green and his chip was well short.<\/span><\/p>\n

“There were some real missed opportunities for me today,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perry was 1-under on the front side, after playing the holes in 12-under the first two days. A bogey at 13 dropped him five shots back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source-\u00a0https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/golf\/2017\/08\/06\/goydos-wins-3m-championship-on-first-playoff-hole\/104362546\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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