This was one of the craziest bounces in PGA Tour history.
The final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship — the first round of the PGA Tour playoffs — created incredible drama on Sunday night. Will Zalatoris and Sepp Straka entered a playoff after the 18th hole with 15-under. After trading pars on the first two holes of the playoffs, the two golfers went to the par-3 11th, where Zatoris teeed off first.
The 25-year-old American hit a flawed tee shot that appeared to be headed straight for the water that would have set Straka for a win. But miraculously, his ball hit the stone wall guarding the water, bouncing in the air multiple times and somehow managing to land safely on the ledge — and outside the drink.
While Zalatoris escaped the penalty, he still had an almost impossible lay below the grass line on top of the wall and set Straka to victory if he could get the ball onto the green. Instead, the Austrian hit an almost identical shot as Zatoris – only his ball wasn’t as lucky and ended up in the water.
Straka brought it back to the tee for his third shot from the penalty spot, again failing to find the green and hitting the bunker. After watching the advantage shift even further in his direction, Zatoris then decided to take a penalty himself as bouncing the ball off the stone edge was potentially catastrophic.
Will Zalatoris inspects where his ball landed on the final playoff hole. Getty Images
He managed to find the green on his second tee – and sank a putt to win the tournament and collect the $2.7 million winner’s check.
The victory was Zalatoris’ first on the PGA Tour, although he has come tantalizingly close to it on several occasions. In his first season on the PGA Tour, he finished runner-up at the 2021 Masters, lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the PGA Championship in 2022, and finished runner-up again at the 2022 US Open at Brookline.
Will Zalatoris poses with the trophy after winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Getty Images
In the first round of the PGA Tour playoffs, the Wake Forest product finally tasted victory.