As J.T. Poston was playing his 31st hole on Sunday at the rain-delayed Memorial Tournament, he didn't know quite where he stood. Oh, he knew he needed a birdie to force a playoff with Ryan Gerard. But he didn't know what would happen if he didn't make a birdie and go on to win the tournament, whether he'd have to play another 36 holes Monday to qualify for the U.S. Open.
A total of 67 holes of pressure-packed golf -- plus whatever the playoff demanded -- across two days seems like a lot.
A win would take care of all that, however, and move Poston into the top 60 in the Official World Golf Rankings and thus make the so-called Golf's Longest Day moot, at least for him.
So after sticking his 8-iron from 162 yards in the 18th fairway at Muirfield Village to seven and a half feet, Poston calmly drained the putt to force a playoff, then outlasted Gerard on the second extra hole to capture by far the biggest win of his career.
"No, I didn't know," Poston said afterward. "I knew a win would get it done and that was pretty much what my focus was on, was trying to win the golf tournament, and I would figure it out afterwards if I didn't."
It turns out, the calculations seemed to indicate that just by making the playoff, Poston would crack the top 60 to avoid U.S. Open qualifying -- and also pick up the Memorial's lone exemption into next month's Open Championship.
Not a bad Sunday, albeit a very long one, for someone who hadn't had a top-20 all year in what had become a very frustrating season.
Poston parred both playoff holes and walked away with his fourth career win. There was the 2019 Wyndham, the 2022 John Deere and the 2024 Shriners. Three wins on the PGA Tour are not nothing, but those wins are nothing like the Memorial.
Normally a good putter, Poston was ranked outside the top 100 for the season. But at an extremely difficult Muirfield Village course, the 33-year-old ranked third in the field for the week and led the tournament for most of the weekend.
Poston's superb play included a 7-under 65 on Friday that left Justin Thomas in awe.
Poston carried a lead into Sunday, beginning with his final 13 holes in his third round. He was eventually caught late on the back nine and, with two holes to go, there actually was a five-way tie for the lead.
Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark fell by the wayside, leaving Poston and Gerard to duke it out for Jack Nicklaus' traditional congratulatory greenside handshake.
Thanks to a new putter -- a TaylorMade Spider for the golf nerds out there -- and a new putting approach, it was Poston who got the honor with the tournament's host.
And he also got to take Monday off.
He was asked how tired he would have been had he had to play another 36.
"Man, very tired," Poston said. "We would have found a way, but I sort of told myself in the playoff that this is my U.S. Open qualifier. This is my chance to get in. I want to play in the majors. I want to play in the big events. This is a huge boost of confidence for me and my game and knowing that I can compete in those and play in those. Just thrilled to get it done."
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Ryan Gerard
This was Gerard's third runner-up of the season. But the others came in the first two tournaments of the season and he had largely struggled since then. He is a gritty player who will almost surely qualify for the TOUR Championship and was already top-60 in the OWGR in order to get into the U.S. Open. And he showed his grit out there when a fan barked at him in the heat of battle late on Sunday.
Wyndham Clark
In his first start after winning the Byron Nelson, Clark almost went back to back before settling for a solo third. He birdied 15 and 16 to get into that five-way tie for the lead. He parred the last two holes -- no shame in that at Muirfield Village. And so Clark will head to Shinnecock Hills in two weeks playing his best golf since he won the U.S. Open three years ago.
Sam Burns
Burns played well -- as he usually does at the Memorial. But he fell victim to a fatal bogey on 17 and wound up in a tie for fourth. He has piled up enough good finishes -- T13 at THE PLAYERS, T7 at the Masters -- that he should reach East Lake. But in his first time truly contending this season, and in search of his first win since the 2023 Match Play, Burns knows he let this one get away.
Tommy Fleetwood
The floodgates that were supposed to open after Fleetwood broke through for his maiden PGA tour win last summer have remained shut. This was his best chance. He came out of nowhere with a miracle eagle on 15 to actually grab sole possession of the lead. But, like Burns, Fleetwood bogeyed 17 to send his week from sudden exhilaration to sudden disappointment.
Alex Fitzpatrick
Who exactly is the best Fitzpatrick brother? We're kidding! (We think.) Younger bro Alex tied for sixth to continue his sterling run since earning his PGA Tour card. This was his third top-10 since winning the Zurich alongside Matt Fitzpatrick, and all of them have been in Signature Events. This is not merely a hot streak; it is a player becoming good before our eyes. For the record, Matt finished way back in a tie for 36th.
Kristoffer Reitan
The out-of-nowhere winner of the Truist at Quail Hollow showed his chops on another brutally hard golf course in tying for sixth. Reitan ranked third in the field in SG: Approach -- very impressive.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler's drought continued, and he appears to be growing frustrated, even appearing to snap at trusted caddie Ted Scott on Thursday before finishing in a tie for 12th. There's no real statistical weakness in Scheffler's game. He's not not the elite iron player we've seen the past few years.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy made a bit of a Sunday charge by going out in 32 to get within the neighborhood of contention. But a bogey on 12 ended his changes and he tied for 12th. Ranking 35th in the field in SG: Putting will not get the job done.
Justin Thomas
Thomas, who marveled at Poston's 65 on Friday, shot a 65 of his own on Sunday to zoom up the leaderboard into a tie for 19th. That after making the cut on the number at 74-75 and needing to make an eight-footer on his final hole Friday to advance to the weekend.
Aaron Rai
In rai's first start since winning the PGA Championship, he tied for 19th. He ranked 38th in the field in SG: Putting, which is far worse than at the PGA but still better than he normally does.
Matt Kuchar
The 47-year-old Kuchar turned a curious sponsor invite into a tie for 22nd. You don't want to disappoint Mr. Nicklaus.
Tony Finau
Finau was another sponsor invite and he tied for 29th. He ranked second in SG: Off-the-Tee -- great! -- but 39th in Approach.
Xander Schauffele
Schauffele has not been contending for titles this season but he has been consistent with high finishes. His T29 was just his fourth tournament in 12 starts that didn't end with a top-25.
Brandt Snedeker
The 45-year-old Snedeker, who qualified via the Aon Swing 5 after his incredible win at MYrtle Beach, closed with a 69 to tie for 36 -- basically beating half the field.
MISSED CUTS
Jordan Spieth, Ben Griffin, Jason Day, Robert MacIntyre, Akshay Bhatia, Alex Smalley, Rickie Fowler. Spieth opened with a 1-under 71 but then crashed out with a second-round 79. ... Griffin was the defending runner-up and had been playing his best golf of the season of late. .. Day and MacIntyre are enduring largely subpar years that have conveniently been boosted by a few very good weeks. ... Bhatia has also hit a rough patch. ... The clock finally struck midnight for Smalley, but don't dismiss him going forward; he was playing very well for a couple of months. ... Fowler finished dead last in the field, with a disastrous 79-82 scorecard.
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