Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida – And the winner of the 51st Player Championship is…
Well, we have to wait until Monday morning.
Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun finished 72 holes with a 12-under deadlock on the TPC Sawgrass. WillDule will begin on Monday at 9am with the three-hole consolidation playoffs, 16, 17 and 18.
It was a wild day at Sawgrass. There, the dangerous weather stopped for four hours at 1:15pm.
At the time, McIlroy took a one-shot lead over Spaun at 12 under.
It took McIlroy just seven minutes to turn his one-shot lead into a three-shot bulge when the weather delay ended when McIlroy birded hole 13 and Spaun Bogeyed 11.
At that moment, McIlroy was 13 under par, taken over by Spaun, Danny Walker, Akshay Bhatia and Tom Hoge.
From there, McIlroy, who had acquired the player in 2019, failed to clean it up and left the door more than Ajar for Spaun.
McIlroy bogeyed No. 14 after a bad drive, but 14 is the toughest hole on the course.
Behind McIlroy was Spaun Birdie on No. 14, and he shaved the deficit into a single shot.
McIlroy's biggest mistake that day was a birdie on the par 5 16th hole, the easiest hole on the golf course.
Spaun birded 16 and tied the lead at 12 under.
Both players sent the tournament to their first Monday finish in the 10 years when Ricky Fowler won the playoffs in 2015, comparing 17 and 18.
McIlroy started a four-shot behind Spaun, shooting a 4-under 68 on Spaun's even 72.
“I feel like I should have stood here and went home today with the trophy,” McIlroy said afterwards. “But hopefully I'll come back and I'll go home tomorrow with the trophy. I had two good chances at 15 and 16 after hitting a pretty bad tee shot at 14. There were two good chances skated. Then I hit a good shot at 17.
Spaun, 34, a journeyman who once won the PGA Tour, looked shaky to start his day with the lead. He didn't bird the hole until the par 5 ninth.
“I knew it wouldn't be easy,” Spawn said. “I have a lot of faith in myself and my caddy. When I made a birdie at 9am, that kind of thing changed the tide for me.
“And then, a small [weather delay] The break helped me to be reorganized and reset, and I came back with a different mindset rather than being so nervous. ”
To his credit, Spaun made a brave par in 18 holes, McIlroy already had to go 12 under, Spaun had to force the playoffs.
Filmed on Spaun's tee shot 18, he was tronded into a pine straw on the right side of the fairway, and he torested the approach shot from the cup to 30 feet and putts twice.
This is always on this golf course, so there's a game of charming cat and mouse that continues, and players know what each other is doing.
“I was watching [McIlroy] All the time,” Spawn said. “This is a course where decision-making is a huge process, so I had to know what I needed to do and what I needed to do. [McIlroy] It was doing it.
“I smashed it and I have another chance tomorrow.”
McIlroy is Nos. I quickly put pressure on Spaun when I got off to Birdie Eagle Start with 1 and 2.
“I played the last few holes well,” McIlroy said. “I've had three good swings, [but] He did not climb the tier in 2018. I had a good 2 putt and I feel like I had the opportunity to go home with the trophy tonight. But I'll reset about a good night's sleep and try to win it tomorrow. ”
He said sleeping in the playoffs is something he “has never experienced before.”
“It's going to be cool to be involved,” he continued. “I think it's a very three-hole match play scenario. That's all. Try to prepare as much as you can tomorrow morning. Good night. It's been a very long day for all of us.”
