OK, so what do we call this now?
Is it a heater? Perhaps. With his one-hole playoff victory on Sunday over Patrick Cantlay at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Lucas Glover wins for a second-straight week. With his one-under 69 at TPC Southwind, Glover shoots in the 60s for the 21st time in 22 rounds.
Is it a miracle? Maybe. Before his win last week at the Wyndham Championship, Glover had won just once — at the 2021 John Deere Classic — since 2011. But the story is deeper here. The 2009 U.S. Open winner has been open with a battle with putting yips, overcoming them only just this summer, when he desperately switched to a broom-style putter.
Of course, if we’re asking those aforementioned questions, something bigger is afoot.
Is this all one hell of a story?
Yes, yes it is.
A 43-year-old is on the run of a lifetime, after struggling on the greens so much, that the right-hander seriously considered going at it as a southpaw. (Seriously.)
It’s incredible. It’s improbable. It’s something.
But Sunday was not easy. Dude’s not superman, after all. It was a true grind. Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Glover scored well, though few holes were a breeze. On the par-4 2nd, he needed an 11-footer for par. After a birdie on the par-5 3rd, he nearly hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 4th before parring. On the par-4 10th, he dropped a 7-footer for par. On the par-4 13th, he dropped in a 20-footer for par, after missing the fairway to the left off the tee and hitting into a depression on his second shot.
A hole later, Glover’s lead was gone, though, after he blocked his tee shot right and into the water on the par-3 14th and bogeyed, and ahead, Cantlay birdied the par-5 16th. But Glover’s fourth stroke on 14 — a 29-foot make — kept him in it, and he pulled back into a share of the lead when he, too, birdied 16. The tie remained after 72 holes.
In the playoff, Cantlay cracked first, when his tee shot found the water. Then Glover did what he’s done so masterfully over these past few weeks. Tee shot down the middle. Iron to the green. Two putts. Par. And when Cantlay missed to match, Glover was your winner, in this first PGA Tour playoff event.
And now there are more questions.
Does he win next week, at the BMW Championship? Does he win in two weeks, at the Tour Championship? Does he make the Ryder Cup? Does he ever lose again?
What a story.
The takeaway
When does this end? Wild.
The leaderboard breakdown
— Lucas Glover, after about a 90-minute storm delay, starts the final round with a one-shot lead. He’s at 14-under, Taylor Moore is at 13-under, Tommy Fleetwood is at 12-under, and Max Homa and Jordan Spieth are at 11-under.
— Glover pars the 388-yard, par-4 2nd on an 11-foot putt, and he holds a one-shot lead. He’s at 14-under, Spieth is at 13-under, Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy are at 12-under, and Moore, Homa, Sungjae Im, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland are at 11-under.
— Glover birdies the 557-yard, par-5 3rd after hitting his third shot to 3 feet, and he grabs a two-shot lead. He’s at 15-under, Spieth is at 13-under, and McIlroy, Fleetwood and Homa are at 12-under.
— Glover pars the 187-yard, par-3 4th after nearly hitting his tee shot into the water, and he holds his two-shot cushion. He’s at 15-under, Spieth is at 13-under, and Cantlay, McIlroy, Hovland, Fleetwood and Homa are at 12-under.
— Glover pars the 446-yard, par-4 9th, and halfway through the final round, he leads by two. He’s at 15-under, Cantlay is at 13-under and McIlroy, Spieth, Hovland, Fleetwood, Homa and Adam Schenk.
— Glover pars the 472-yard, par-4 10th on a 7-foot putt, but his lead falls to one after Fleetwood birdies his second-straight hole. Glover is at 15-under, Fleetwood is at 14-under, Cantlay is at 13-under, and McIlroy, Spieth and Homa are at 12-under.
— Fleetwood bogeys the 404-yard, par-4 12th after coming up short of the green on his second shot, and Glover’s lead goes back to two. Glover is at 15-under, Cantlay, McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 13-under, and Spieth is at 12-under.
— Cantlay birdies the 399-yard, par-4 15th on an 8-foot putt, and he moves to within a shot of the lead. Glover is at 15-under, Cantlay is at 14-under, McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 13-under, and Spieth is at 12-under.
— Glover pars the 460-yard, par-4 13th hole on a 20-foot putt — after he had missed the fairway to the left off the tee and hit into a depression on his second shot. Glover is at 15-under, Cantlay is at 14-under, McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 13-under, and Spieth is at 12-under.
— Glover bogeys the 206-yard, par-3 14th on a 29-foot putt — after he had blocked his tee shot out to the right and into the water — Cantlay birdies the 511-yard, par-5 16th, and Glover loses his lead. Cantlay is at 15-under, Glover is at 14-under, and McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 13-under.
— Glover pars the 15th after just missing a 6-footer, and he remains a shot back. Cantlay is at 15-under, Glover is at 14-under, McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 13-under, and Spieth is at 12-under.
— Glover birdies the 16th after chipping to 7 inches, and he pulls into a share of the lead. Glover and Cantlay are at 15-under, Fleetwood is at 14-under, and McIlroy is at 13-under.
— Cantlay pars the 448-yard, par-4 18th, and he holds the clubhouse lead, while Glover still has two holes to play. Glover and Cantlay are at 15-under, and McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 14-under.
— Glover pars the 483-yard, par-4 17th on an 11-foot putt — after he had missed the fairway to the left on his tee shot — and Glover and Cantlay remained tied. Glover and Cantlay are at 15-under, and McIlroy and Fleetwood are at 14-under.
— Glover pars the 18th after his 21-foot birdie attempt comes up just short, and Glover and Cantlay finish at 15-under, one shot ahead of McIlroy and Fleetwood. Glover and Cantlay head back to the 18th hole for the first hole of a playoff.
— On the first hole of the playoff, Cantlay hits just into the water on the left side of the hole with his tee shot, then Glover hits into the fairway. From there, Glover hits to 22 feet right of the hole on his second stroke, and Cantlay, after his penalty drop, hits his third stroke just inside of Glover. On the green, Glover misses his birdie putt, and he cleans up for par, and Cantlay misses just to the right for par. Glover wins for the second-straight week.
The final word
“You work hard no matter what, whether you’re fighting something or you’re playing great, you just work hard, because you never know when it can turn and it’s turned very quickly for me and luckily been in a good frame of mind to take advantage of it.” — Glover, on CBS after his victory
