FORT WORTH, Texas – Sam Burns made a 38-foot bard with a shot at Colonial’s first playoff hole, which came just over two hours after finishing his round to beat top Scotty Scheffler on Sunday.
After finishing his 5-under 65 to reach 9 less, Burns was ready at the club when at one point Scheffler was among the five players tied at 10 less.
The gusty wind and the strange sequence changed all that. And Scheffler needed three clutch strokes for 72, only to enter the playoffs, comparing 25-year-old outstanding and close friends.
Burns’ return with seven bars coincided with Nick Price in 1994 for the biggest in the last round of Colonial victory.
The playoffs began with the two riding in fairway number 18, the same hole where Scheffler had made a 6-foot nominal blow just minutes earlier after his approach to his 72nd hole entered the bunker.
Scheffler went green with his approach to the playoffs, but he was 36 feet. Burns hit right from the back edge of the green and used his pater as the ball twisted the last few feet into the bowl. Scheffler made a good shot with his shot, but there was no bird all day.
It was Burns’ third win of the season and his fourth overall in his last 27 starts. The 10th-ranked player won in Walspar for the second time in March.
The Colonial victory was worth $ 1,512,000, along with a plaid jacket and a specially designed Schwab Firebird Trans Am.
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The Masters champion Scheffler was aiming for his fifth victory in his last 10 starts. He failed to become the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 with five wins in the PGA Tour season before early June.
Burns was 5 points lower in the top nine to make his turn on the 9th floor. He had a birdie at number 11, but then had a bogey after a wayward hit with a tee and a penalty. He stepped back and then waited.
After Scheffler’s first shot on the 17th went 8 feet past the hole, he punched his fist when he made a steam rescue. This was even more emphatic than his reaction when he also pushed a 9-foot bird attempt past number 15 and also saved a face value there.
Brendan Todd, 71, who played in the last group with Scheffler, gave up his share of the lead from back to back in 11th and 12th places. This brought him down to 8 less, where he stayed to finish third alone. It was a blow to Tony Finau (67), Davis Riley (69) and Scott Stallings (72).
Temperatures were again in the mid-90s with steady winds of over 20 mph with gusts up to more than 30 mph, similar to Saturday. The greens got harder, and the wind made it even harder to climb – and hit when the players did.
There were five players tied at 10 less after the final groups made a turnaround, followed by a long break between shots for Scheffler when he briefly regained his solo lead.
Stallings flew 631 yards on the 11th to reach floor 10 before flying over green number 12 on a slope, where his view of the green was obstructed by a temporary television tower.
After receiving a drop of it, relief from standing on the sprayer’s head, and then even more relief from a temporary sign, Stallings was 43 yards from the hole with a direct line to it. But his approach was short-lived, and he ended up with a bastard.
Harold Warner III, who is fighting for his first victory in the PGA Tour, was in the group with Stalings and also fell out of the lead when he made four shots from just 20 feet after a long wait. His approach was buried in a bunker in front of the green.
Then a triple buggy, Warner’s hit with the one in par-3 13th went into the water and he had a double stopper. He had another triple and then doubled for the back 10-over 45 and 78 to finish the tournament, tied for 27th in a tie.
During this delay, Scheffler was in the fairway at number 12 and suddenly took the lead again at 10 o’clock. But that was short-lived. His approach was short and then he missed a 3 1/2 foot shot.
PGA Tour rookie Riley actually had an absolute lead of 11 less with his sixth bird of the day, a par-5 kill in 11th place after breaking behind the green after a 340-yard drive and a 305-yard approach.
But his monetary attempt for number 13 was distorted by the cup, and then his drive on the 12th went beyond the bounds of a double-hit 6.
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