Luke List emerged victorious from a five-man playoff – the first since 2017 on the PGA Tour – draining a 45-footer to win the Sanderson Farms Championship after a rollercoaster final day in Mississippi.
But it looked for all the world like Ben Griffin, seeking his first PGA Tour win, was going to shut the door on the opposition. The second-year PGA Tour pro took a healthy lead into the final round, after rounds of 67, 63 and 66, and, despite hitting a few speedbumps along the way, managed to take a one-stroke lead to the final tee.
Ludvig Aberg, fresh off a Ryder Cup win in Rome, was showing few signs of a hangover as he shot four rounds in the 60s – with a 68 to finish – to take the clubhouse lead at -18, but would’ve expected to be a couple shy when all was said and done.
He was joined on that number by Henrik Norlander and Scott Stallings, with List making it four who were all harbouring outside hopes that Griffin’s oil leak would continue at the final hole and they’d get one more chance to complete the smash and grab.
Adrenaline pumping, the young pro from North Carolina blasted his approach to the 18th into the rough over the back of the green, and after a well-executed chip from an awkward position, found himself facing an eight-footer for his maiden win. There was nothing wrong with the stroke, but a minor misread saw the ball slide agonisingly by on the high side, meaning that we were headed for the most populated PGA Tour playoff in over six years.
With light fading, a next-day finish was a distinct possibility, especially when none of the five hit it particularly close on the first playoff hole – the 18th. But then Luke List stepped up. After Aberg had putted from a similar line moments before and Griffin a few feet closer still, it looked as though List and the young Swede were going to do much of Griffin’s homework for him, as, last to putt of the trio, he’d have the benefit of two previews.
As it happened, List gave the perfect read, so perfect in fact, that the line and pace were spot on, and it found the dead-centre of the cup. Neither Griffin, Stallings or Norlander could follow suit and 38-year-old List was back in the winner’s circle again.
“I think all my emotion kind of came out after that putt, and then it was just shock, really, still. But to have them there means everything. The last one my son was a little smaller and he’s starting to get into golf a little bit. But just my wife, she’s incredible, and her steadiness and perseverance to keep me level and positive is a job in itself,” List said.
“It’s just tough sometimes backing myself, and she’s always got my back. It was really special having her and my kids here.”
List got off to a solid start in Mississippi, firing rounds of 66-66 before staying steady through the weekend. He shot a 2-under 70 on Sunday. List started the week No. 119 in the FedExCup standing but is set to move up to No. 61 – meaning he’ll be firmly in the mix for the Next 10. The win also earned him a spot in The Sentry and the Masters – a nice treat for someone who lives in Augusta, Georgia – amongst plenty more rewards as a Tour winner for the first time since the Famers Insurance Open in 2022.
“Just to have the opportunity to get in a playoff, I felt like, ‘Wow, OK, this is a gift,” List said. “Then my mindset just switched into, ‘OK, let’s try to make a birdie any way I could.’ Didn’t hit the best (approach) shot but I told my caddie, ‘I’m making this,’ and somehow rolled it in.”
List didn’t feel he had his ‘A’ game all week, but a friendly putter and deft touch in the short game department kept bogeys off the card and it was fitting that, in the end, it was his putter that would be the decisive factor.
“Usually in the past I would kind of fold up and get a little frustrated, and I was able to just hang in there. My caddie did a fantastic job on keeping me present, and just very fortunate to come out on top,” List said.
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