Lingmerth edges Rose in playoff
David Lingmerth claimed his first PGA Tour title on Sunday after he triumphed over Justin Rose in a sudden death playoff to win The Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
Lingmerth carded a final round three-under 69 to finish on 15-under for the tournament, before edging Rose at the third playoff hole.
The Swede had held the second round lead before slipping off the pace on Saturday as Rose carved out a three-shot third round lead. But he surged back into contention on Sunday, and had a chance to potentially avoid a playoff, but failed to sink a nine-foot birdie putt on the last.
Rose meanwhile would have considered himself fortunate to be able to set up a playoff after a testing round of 72 culminated in his approach shot at the 18th hitting a fan on the head. However, the Englishman, who won at Muirfield Village in 2010, ensured he would remain in contention by producing an unbelievable recovery with a wedge which rolled just two feet wide of the cup and allowed him to save par.
The pair headed to the 18th for the opening playoff hole where Rose sunk a 20-foot putt for par, a score that was matched by Lingmerth.
The players returned to the 18th once more for the second playoff hole, and again it was pars all round as the duo could not be separated. However, Lingmerth would eventually seal the victory on the third playoff hole, with his four-foot putt for par enough after Rose had bogeyed the hole after missing a 22-foot par putt.
“I’ve been in a few playoffs…you win some, you lose some,” revealed the 27-year-old on ESPN.
“But I didn’t feel that it was my turn to lose this time. I was telling myself that I was going to make that putt.”
It was a disappointing day for Rose who saw a three-shot lead dissipate during an up and down round that included six bogeys and six birdies.
Consecutive bogeys on the third and fourth saw Rose start poorly before notching up a birdie on the fifth. He rounded off his front nine in the same fashion, making successive bogeys on the seventh and eighth before carding a birdie on the ninth to take the turn in 38.
The Englishman started to pick his game on the back nine with birdies on the and 13th. However, Rose’s recovery was halted when he registered a bogey on the par-four 14th after being disturbed by a shouting fan during his backswing as he looked to play out of a greenside bunker.
Rose was so startled by the fan’s outburst that his third shot went 10 feet past the hole and dangerously close to the water. The 34-year-old was not impressed with the fan and would have been even less so when his par putt ended up 14 inches short of the hole. Rose went on to birdie the 15th, bogey the 16th and birdie the 17th before his incredible finish on the 18th.
Lingmerth began the day three strokes behind Rose, and registered a birdie on the first, a bogey on the second and a birdie on the third to take the turn in 35. The Swede kicked off his back nine with a bogey on the 10th but bounced back with birdies on the 11th, 12th and 15th to take over the clubhouse lead from Jordan Spieth.
Reigning Masters champion Spieth finished in a tie for third following a spirited comeback on Sunday. Spieth enjoyed a bogey-free front nine that also included four birdies.
His hot streak continued with another birdie at the 11th, but he faltered on the 14th when his 18-foot par putt went wide of the hole as he registered the lone bogey of the round. However, the 21-year-old atoned for his mistake by converting a 26-foot eagle putt on the par-five 15th which he followed up with a birdie at the 18th.
After recording a career-worst round of 85 on Saturday, Tiger Woods finished another disappointing outing with a round of 74 which saw him finish last.
Woods bounced back from a bogey at the second to make birdies on the fifth, seventh and ninth, but the wheels came off after the turn. Double bogeys at the 16th and 18th were scattered between bogeys at the 13th and 17th as the former world number one continued to struggle with his remodelled swing.
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