Through all the chaos and drama, Kevin Kisner wins the 2021 Wyndham Championship (image: Chris Seward/AP)
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
It's safe to say that the 2021 PGA Tour season went out with a bang.
After much drama, on what was perhaps one of the most hectic Sundays of the season, Kevin Kisner has emerged victorious at Sedgefield Country Club. It wasn't easy though; he needed to battle through a six-man playoff that consisted of Adam Scott, Kevin Na, Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim and Canadian Roger Sloan, all who finished their final rounds at 15-under.
This is Kisner's fourth win on the PGA Tour and first since 2019. The win propels him up the FedEx Rankings to 29th place and also secures his PGA playing status through the 2022-2023 season.
15-UNDER TO THE PLAYOFF
The craziness that was the final round was progressing quite normally until the second half. 54 hole leader Russell Henley led the tournament at 17-under, with a two shot lead over Justin Rose. But on the 11th hole, Henley missed a two-foot putt for par and dropped a shot. His lead would soon evaporate, as he would go on to bogey holes 12, 14 and 18, missing the playoff by a single stroke. He shot a 71 on the day; the only score in the 70s out of the top 35 players.
Meanwhile, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Na, Brandon Grace and Roger Sloan all started their days four shots off the lead at 11-under, while Adam Scott started five shots back and Si Woo Kim six shots back.
Each player managed to get to the infamous 15-under in their own unique way. Kisner managed to birdie holes 16 and 17, hitting a remarkable approach shot on the 17th hole to a few feet for an easy birdie. Kevin Na eagled the par 5 15th hole, but faced a tough up-and-down on the 18th hole. He sunk his par putt and remained at 15-under. Brandon Grace birdied holes 15 and 16 and needed birdie on the 18th hole to get into the playoff. One long clutch putt later and he was in. All three shot 66s.
Si Woo Kim carded the low score of the bunch, with a 64 that included birdies on 13 and 17, and a eagle on the par 5 5th hole. Adam Scott also played his final few holes well, carding back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16. And finally, the Canadian Roger Sloan carded back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to get to 15-under.
When it was all said and done, the playoff featured six players, setting the record for the largest playoff in PGA Tour history, in terms of participants. To me, these final rounds summarized exactly what the Wyndham Championship is all about; a hectic, crazy last-dash to get into the playoffs, whether it be the FedEx Cup Playoffs or tournament playoffs.
A PLAYOFF TO REMEMBER
With the players all set, the sixsome headed back to the 18th tee to start the playoff.
All six players hit decent tee shots, but it was their approaches to the green where things got interesting. Scott and Sloan both found the green with theirs, Kisner landed just short of the green, as did Grace, Na ended up in the greenside bunker and Kim overshot the green. Scott had the advantage, being closest to the hole and on the green. Amazingly though, Na managed to chip out and sink a long putt for par, Kisner, Grace and Kim both chipped and putted for par, and Sloan missed his birdie putt by also carded a par.
It was all down to Scott, who from the looks of it had an easy putt for the win. He studied the putt with his caddie for a little bit, assuming there would be a significant break in it. But there was no break and Scott missed the putt, to everyone's amazement. He too parred so back to the 18th tee box the sixsome went; six players, six different strategies, yet the same score....again.
This time though, only Sloan, Kisner and Scott found the fairway, and the advantage was in their favor now. Again, we saw a variety of approaches to the 18th green. Kim found the greenside bunker, Kisner landed on the green and close, as did Brandon Grace. Scott landed on the green but further away from the flag, as did Sloan and Na overshot the green. It looked as though birdie attempts were possible for Grace and Kisner. Grace putted first but missed his birdie putt, after coming very close. But Kisner, keen not to extend the playoff any longer, sank his birdie putt. And it was good enough for the win, as the rest of the field could only manage pars.
Shortly after sinking the putt, Kisner was heard saying this was his first playoff win. In fact, up to that point in his career, Kisner had been in five previous playoffs on the PGA Tour but couldn't convert in either of them, the most famous being the 2015 Players Championship. His streak was finally broken and what a way to do it.
SEDGEFILED VERSUS THE WEATHER
The chaos of the final round began even before the first tee shot was taken on Sunday. As a result of the inclement weather forecasted for the afternoon, all tee times were bumped up by several hours, with three to a time slot. The final group teed off just after 9am local time.
This led to all sorts of TV scheduling conflicts, as the Ladies Scottish Open and US Amateur were also being broadcasted, among other sports. In Canada, pre-recorded final round coverage was aired in the afternoon, and viewers were not able to watch the final round live unless they were subscribed to various US network streaming services.
As for Sedgefield itself, the course continued to remain vulnerable, with sub-60 round being had by all players virtually in contention. The low round of the day was a 62 shot by Chesson Hadley, aided by a hole-in-one on the par 3 16th hole. This was Hadley's first hole-in-one ever, both professionally or as an amateur.
FEDEX CUP RANKINGS SHAKE-UP
As if all the above drama was not enough, the FedEx Cup Playoffs battle was still being hotly contested during the final round.
Ryan Armour (122nd), Patrick Rodgers (123rd) and Bo Hoag (125th) all fell below the 125th place cutoff after all missing the cut.
Chesson Hadley remarkably finished right in 125th place. This finish guarantees him his Tour card through next season as well as entry into the playoffs.
Roger Sloan shot up 39 places from 131st to 92nd as a result of his T2 finish.
Scott Piercy also made it into the playoffs, going from 126th to 116th.
Justin Rose, who needed a good finish this week to get into the playoffs, came up one place short at 126th. He was left with a short par putt on the 18th green, but unfortunately missed it. That putt was costly though, as he finished two shots back, but at T10. In a normal tournament, finishing two back would put you in a higher place on the leaderboard, hence more points, but that was not the case this week due to the large playoff contingent. It also didn't help that Hadley had an excellent finish to the tournament.
MATTHEW WOLFF IS A WINNER TOO THIS WEEK
Despite being cut from the tournament, Matthew Wolff is still a winner this week. He wins the season-long AON Risk Reward Challenge this year and a cheque for 1 million dollars.
The AON Risk Reward Challenge is quite neat. It's a challenge designed to reward players who score well on the toughest holes in each tournament. The way it works is that each week, a hole at a tournament is chosen, with each player's score for that hole being recorded. Whoever has the best score at the end of the year, wins the challenge. Think of it as a single round of golf made up of one hole from each tournament. For this week, the 15th hole was chosen, where Wolff carded a par and birdie in his two rounds.
CANADIAN PRESENCE AT SEDGEFIELD
Amidst all the chaos of the Wyndham Championship, it should be noted that Canadians were well represented on the leaderboard, with
three being in the top-10 alone (Roger Sloan T2, Nick Taylor T10 and
Adam Hadwin T10).
As for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Sloan, Taylor, Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes are all in it.
We've being saying this for years, but Canadian professional golf is in good hands, both on the PGA and LPGA Tour.
PICKS RESULTS
To wrap it all up, here is how our picks finished off the week:
1) Justin Rose: T10 at 13-under
2) Tommy Fleetwood: T65 at 1-under
Again, you have to feel bad for Rose's situation. And Fleetwood's was no better, plummeting down the leaderboard after weekend scores of 72 and 73. The two don't get into the playoffs but on the upside will have some time off in the upcoming weeks.
***
Whew, let's all take a deep breath now and exhale. That ends the 2020-2021 PGA Tour season and what a way to go out. From collapses, to weather disruptions, to TV conflicts, to a six-man playoff, the 2021 Wyndham Championship had it all this year and lived up to the hype.
But now the serious fun begins, as the FedEx Cup Playoffs commence with the first event of the playoffs, The Northern Trust (formerly The Barclays) at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey.
Stay tuned for our coverage of that and much more,
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
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