Glover Grit: The win was hard-won. Glover, 43, was in a tense duel with Patrick Cantlay after a grueling 72-hole matchup. He nailed an 8-foot par putt. Cantlay’s tee shot landed in the water. A 20-foot, 3-inch par putt missed and nearly destroyed his ambitions. Glover joined golfing greats with this triumph. He was the first over-40 FedEx Cup Playoff champion after 54 holes since Tiger Woods in 2018.
Glover, from Greenville, South Carolina, and a Clemson University graduate, shot a 69 in the final round with precision. Cantlay, another contender, shot a 64 to tie in regulation at 15 under par 265. Rory McIlroy fought hard and scored 65, and Tommy Fleetwood showed his talent by scoring 68, keeping them one stroke behind the leaders.
Glover’s recent success should move him from No. 49 in the FedEx Cup Playoff rankings to the top five with this win. Glover won the Wyndham Championship and has finished in the top six five times in six weeks. Amazing achievement.
Glover cooled down before playing the 17th and 18th holes by immersing his hands in cold water-filled bags. His birdie putt on the 18th green, which would have won the title, missed by one foot. His beautiful tap-in for par climaxed the spectacle, sending the third PGA Tour event in Memphis in a row into a dramatic playoff.
Glover led the title heading into the final round at TPC Southwind. Ten strong opponents were five strokes behind him at 14 under. Taylor Moore was whispers behind Glover. Glover led by one stroke. Moore’s early rounds had four bogeys and one birdie for a 71. However, a 94-minute rain delay after noon ended Cantlay, McIlroy, and Fleetwood’s dramatic late charge.
Glover’s game was in jeopardy, strangely. He almost lost his grip after a violent ride through the intermediate rough on No. 13 and danced with the main rough. A 20.5-foot putt saved a par. When Glover slipped on hole 14, his ball went into the deep water, the stress peaked. He recovered and made a 29-foot, 8-inch putt to avoid bogey. Cantlay led briefly after two birdies on holes 15 and 16.
“It just kept playing. “Keep battling,” Glover told CBS after the heated encounter. “Stay close, get close,” he added. I made the playoffs through luck. The guns arrived as predicted yesterday. I was alone this week.”
Cantlay’s determined play put him on par with Glover in the day’s thrilling finale. Cantlay waited on the driving range for the final count while taking a prearranged break in the clubhouse. Cantlay’s critical tee shot bounced across the course and into the lake as the sunset. Glover’s winning shot, a 288-yard drive on the fairway, was a turning point. After the next shot, he had a tempting 22-foot, 2-inch putt that would make history.