List edges Zalatoris in playoff

American golfer fires six-under par 66 to notch his first PGA Tour title at Torrey Pines


AFP January 30, 2022

LOS ANGELES:

Luke List birdied the first playoff hole to beat Will Zalatoris in the Farmers Insurance Open on Saturday, notching his first US PGA Tour title in his 206th start.

List, 37 and ranked 151st in the world, delivered a sensational final round on the South Course at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, where his seven birdies included four in a row on the front nine and a 13-footer for the clubhouse lead at the 18th.

His six-under par 66 put him at 15-under 273, and he had to wait a tense two hours to see if he'd be caught, with Zalatoris, former world number one Jason Day and current No 1 Jon Rahm leading the charge.

"It feels unbelievable," said List, who celebrated with his wife, Chloe, as he held their young daughter Ryann.

"I've worked really hard and to just have my family here means the world to me, so my daughter could see that," he said. "It's all worth it for this moment."

Zalatoris, who started the day tied with Day for the lead, fired a one-under 71, moving to 15-under with birdies at the fifth and sixth and then parring his last 12 holes.

Despite an errant tee shot at the 72nd hole he had an eight-foot putt for birdie and the win, but it ran out of steam and he and List headed back to the 18th tee to open the playoff with the light already fading on the California coast.

Both found the right fairway bunker off the tee – their balls nestling inches apart.

Both blasted out into the fairway and from there List's masterful approach hit the green and curled toward the cup, leaving him a one-foot birdie putt.

"I was just hoping for a playoff, and once I got that opportunity I just said, you know what, like I'm going to birdie this playoff hole whatever it takes.

"Then I walked up and my ball's plugged and I said I'm still going to make birdie. I was super pumped," added List, who earned an invitation to the Masters.

He tapped it in, putting the pressure on Zalatoris, whose putt – similar to the one he faced in regulation – didn't threaten the hole.

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