05 August 2019: Byeong Hun An was bogey-free through 68 holes and seemingly on course for a famous victory. Only James Tyree Poston had other ideas. The North Carolina native produced an epic 62 to seal his maiden PGA TOUR victory, the first man since Lee Trevino in the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open to win a PGA TOUR title without dropping a shot.
Anirban Lahiri made three birdies in the five holes as he reached the turn in 33 strokes, but bogeys at the 12th and 17th negated his advantage. The Indian finished the week with an even 70 and a T53 wasn’t enough to serve him when he was needing a big result to try and retain the card for 2020. Anirban will now play the Korn Ferry Tour Finals to try and secure a spot for next season.
The 26-year-old American turned the Sedgefield Country Club into a stage of his own with a spectacular final round containing an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole and six birdies. Poston is the 14th first time winner on the PGA TOUR in the 2019 season.
The Korean was clearly gripped by his own nerves as the tournament reached its climax. Byeong Hun An made bogeys at the 15th and 18th, slipping to third behind The Postman and Webb Simpson, who made a birdie on the 18th to edge past the Korean into second place. Simpson shot five-under 65 for the third straight day to end the week at 21-under 259.
Incredibly, Poston needed to save par from over five feet, just five times all week. The longest par-save came at the 15th on Saturday when he found the cup from 8 feet. He gained nearly 2.5 strokes with his putting on Sunday as he overhauled An and Simpson for a memorable victory.
As the tournament inched towards its closing stages, Poston showed some exceptional finishing skills. At the par-4 13th hole, he set up a silky 130 yard approach to leave himself just two feet for birdie. Reaching the green in three on the par-5 15th hole, Poston made no mistake from six feet to go eight-under for the day and 22-under for the week.
The Korean was under constant pressure from there and some shaky golf over the final stretch saw him drop to third place.
Viktor Hovland continued to underline his promise with a final round 65 that helped him into fourth place, just a stroke behind An at 19-under 261. Hovland needed to finish second to secure his card for 2020, but fell just two strokes short of doing so.
Si Woo Kim finished in fifth with a brilliant 64 on Sunday for his 17-under score of 263.
The Wyndham Championship draws the curtain down on another spectacular regular season of the PGA Tour. The Northern Trust at Liberty National Golf Club marks the beginning of The FedExCup Playoffs this Thursday. The event will feature the top 125 players in the FedExCup standings.
Poston propped himself up to No. 27 in the FedExCup standings, jumping 56 spots with this victory.
-22 JT Poston (US); -21 W Simpson (US); -20 BH An (Kor); -19 V Hovland (Nor); -17 SW Kim (Kor)
