Luke List holed a 45-foot birdie putt to win a five-man playoff and capture the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday in Jackson, Miss.
In the PGA Tour’s first playoff with at least five participants since 2021, List headed back to the 18th tee at the Country Club of Jackson with Ben Griffin, Scott Stallings and Swedes Ludvig Aberg and Henrik Norlander after all five finished 18-under 270 in regulation.
Aberg was farthest from the pin after the quintet hit their second shots at the par-4 hole. His lag putt had a similar line as List’s, and List followed by hitting a perfectly paced putt that broke slightly right to left before going in.
The others missed their birdie tries, leaving List to celebrate his second victory on tour. The 38-year-old also won the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open.
“It’s been a full roller coaster,” List said on the Golf Channel broadcast. “I thought I played really well all day and just hung in there. I didn’t think it was gonna be enough, but here we are.”
Griffin, 27, held the 54-hole lead and fumbled a chance to win the tournament in regulation, with two of his five bogeys coming at Nos. 16 and 18. His par try at No. 18 slowly curled just around the cup, dropping him to 18 under for the first time all day and forcing the playoff.
Griffin, who came up short of his first PGA Tour title, said his family “wanted me to win more than I probably wanted to.”
“It’s just a bummer,” Griffin said. “But I’m so happy to have all of them in my life. They have my back and I know I’m going to be back.”
Griffin shot a 2-over 74. List, Stallings and Norlander each shot 70, while Aberg — the only Ryder Cup participant in this week’s field — posted his fourth straight round in the 60s with a 68.
List was not expecting a playoff would be possible. He gave his hat to a spectator at the end of his fourth round.
“Then I heard Ben made bogey, which is tough on 16, and he had a heck of a week,” List said. “Yeah, I was not expecting it when I posted 18 under.”
List is projected to rocket from No. 119 to No. 61 in the FedEx Cup Fall series standings, which will determine not only PGA Tour cards for the 2024 season but some of the designated events. The victory qualifies List for The Sentry in January, as well as the Masters.
“It obviously opens up a lot of doors — The Sentry in Maui and Augusta and some stuff,” List said. “I was just really happy with the way I hung in there mentally throughout the weekend without my A-game, per se, golf swing. Usually in the past I would fold up and get a little frustrated, and I was able to just hang in there. My caddie did a fantastic job on keeping me present, and just very fortunate to come out on top.”
China’s Carl Yuan, playing with Griffin in the final pairing, could have made it a six-man playoff but two-putted for bogey on the 18th hole. He shot a 72 and tied with Mark Hubbard (67) and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout (68) at 17 under.
Hubbard had a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch at Nos. 13-15 to get to 19 under but bogeyed the final two holes to drop out of playoff range.
–Field Level Media
