In 30 minutes, Patton Kizzire saw his five-shot lead slip down to just two.
It’s something a pro never wants to happen while nursing a potential win as they round the turn and head for the back nine Sunday.
It wasn’t just poor shots, there was a bad break too, on No. 10, where his approach shot hit the flag stick and careened nearly 50 feet away.
But just as quickly as it seemed Kizzire was letting it slip away, he was back in control.
After a bogey and two-shot swing on the 11th, Kizzire ripped a tee shot down the middle on the par-5 12th, pushed a 3-iron into the greenside bunker and made a routine up and down for bride. Then on 13, Kizzire knocked a wedge to inside 10 feet and canned the putt. When his closest pursuer, David Lipsky, failed to make birdie at 12 and made bogey at 13, Kizzire’s lead was back to five shots and cruised home the last five holes to win the Procore Championship at Silverado Resort.
His winning score of 20 under beat Lipsky by five and was just one shy of the tournament record which was matched last year by Sahith Theegala.
It’s Kizzire’s third career PGA Tour win and first since winning two events in two months during the 2017-18 season at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba and Sony Open.
The win also couldn’t have come at a better time for the 38-year-old. He made his way to East Lake in 2018 on the strength of his two victories but had only made the postseason once in the years since. Before that, he had finished inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup in each of his first three seasons on the PGA Tour.
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Last season, he finished inside the top 125 before the Playoffs, but did not play in the postseason as the field for the FedEx St. Jude Championship was reduced to 70 starting in 2023. He then fell to 128th during the fall schedule meaning he would play out this season again out of the conditional status category.
He was in an even worse position heading into this fall season, coming into this week at 132nd in the standings.
But the win locks up a two-year exemption for him and now puts him in the conversation for jumping into the first two Signature Events of the year as he jumps to 70th in the fall standings, which are a continuation of the regular season standings. Kizzire didn’t play in any of the Signature Events last season and hasn’t played a major since 2022, but now he’ll be heading back to the Masters for the first time since 2019 next season.
Kizzire looked to be cruising to the win when he chipped in for eagle at the 5th hole. He stood on the 9th tee with a five-shot lead but walked off the 11th green up just two after he bogeyed 9 and 11 and caught the rough break on 10.
But the back-to-back birdies came at just the right moment on 12 and 13 to steady himself and restore the cushion that was plenty to send him to the winner’s circle.
