Troy Merritt briefly wondered about trying another line of work as time passed following his first victory more than three years ago.
He can now look forward to two more years as a professional and participation in next month’s PGA Championship after clutch putting earned him his second trophy.
Merritt on Monday shot a five-under 67 to win the rain-delayed Barbasol Championship by one stroke. He led or shared the lead after each round.
It was his second career PGA Tour victory and came with a spot in the PGA Championship at Bellerive in St Louis, Missouri.
It was also a pretty nice payoff for renewed dedication that helped him keep his tour card after struggling to follow up his 2015 Quicken Loans National victory.
“You always ask yourself, is this the time to move on?” said Merritt, who earned US$630,000 and 300 FedEx Cup points with the victory.
He also is exempt through the 2019-2020 season.
“To get a win like this late in the season and move up to No. 65 on the points list and secure a job for two more years, it’s a pretty good feeling,” he said.
The win highlights a good run for Merritt, who is 34-under-par in his past seven rounds dating back to the second round of last week’s John Deere Classic. He tied for 43rd.
Merritt was one of four players tied for the lead at 18-under when the round at Barbasol began. He made five birdies, including an eagle on the par-four eighth hole, to stay in contention.
Consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th at Keene Trace Golf Club put him into the lead before he finished with pars for a 23-under 265.
“We knew it was going to take a lot of birdies to get the job done, but we didn’t focus on any final number,” Merritt said. “We just continued to do our best on each shot and counted them up at the end, and it was one shot in the positive for us.”
Billy Horschel (67), Richy Werenski (66) and Tom Lovelady (68) were a stroke behind.
J.T. Poston was fifth at 21-under, with Brian Gay sixth at 20-under.
The Monday finish was the PGA Tour’s second this season after Jason Day won the Farmers Insurance Open in January on the sixth playoff hole.
The final round had a playoff feel as well, with Merritt, Robert Streb, six-time PGA Tour winner Hunter Mahan and Lovelady tied for the lead. Competition remained tight as the leaders dealt with a course left mushy by steady showers.
Merritt passed the downtime by watching the final round of the Open Championship and used the rest to play his way into the final major of the season.
Merritt had an opening round of 62 to tie the course record. He tried to maintain consistency in a tournament he believed would require at least 20-under to win.
In his final round, he had a lone bogey on the par-three fifth hole and birdies on the first, sixth and eighth, highlighted by an eagle that took him to 21-under and a brief lead. Merritt’s 128-yard second shot from the fairway landed several inches beyond the pin before spinning back into the cup.
“Hit a nice little nine-iron in from about 128 into a cool little north wind with some mist and just happened to find the bottom of the hole,” he said.
Then came the birdies at the 14th and 15th, and Merritt just missed another on No. 18 when his putt went about an inch left of the cup.
Lovelady, his playing partner, just missed a potential tying birdie on the hole as well.
Lovelady had an eagle on the 14th hole, which kept him in the hunt before he settled for a career-best second on his 25th birthday.
“I played the best I could. I didn’t give up,” Lovelady said. “I just fell one shot short.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care