Taylor Moore claims first PGA Tour title after anxious wait in Florida
Moore carded a final 67 on the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course to set the clubhouse goal of 10-under par before anxiously waiting to see if any of his rivals could make it.
Adam Schenk had to save the 18th to force a playoff, but pulled his drive to the left of the fairway and saw his ball come to rest inches from the base of a tree.
From there he made brilliant contact with a left-handed shot that leaped through the fairway and after hitting his approach at 41 feet saw his long par try carry too much speed, catching the edge of the hole and five feet ran past.
“It stinks,” Schenk admitted. “I hit a really bad drive on the last hole. I did it. I wish I could have easily hit someone and stayed where I had a chance to get onto the green, but I didn’t and I didn’t deserve it.
“I had a chance with the wedge shot that came up short and then I had a chance with the putt that surprisingly actually hit the pin and came close.
“It stinks being this close but overall a great week so can’t really complain. David (his caddy) and I did about as well as we could have beaten today. I didn’t hit it that well.”
Playing partner Jordan Spieth had to make the final birdie to catch Moore, but three putts from long range to drop back to third with England’s Tommy Fleetwood.
Spieth was tied for the lead when he threw a terrible drive into the water on the 16th, but saved a notable bogey and then hit the best tee shot of the day on the par-3 17th, only to miss from six feet for a birdie .
Moore told NBC, “It hasn’t really hit me yet. I was just in competitive mode and just watching the guys finish, maybe in a playoff, maybe not, and it’s so cool.
“It’s so great, that’s what I’m working for and I’m really happy, not just for me but for everyone around me. It’s a cool moment.”
Fleetwood was tied at the top after his third birdie of the day on the par 11th, but needed two tries on the 14th to escape from an awkward position in a green bunker and the resulting bogey effectively ended his chances of one first PGA Tour title.
Two-time defending champion Sam Burns, who was struggling to become the first player in more than a decade to win the same PGA Tour event three years in a row, finished sixth after a final score of 67.
Former Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker was the last player to achieve this feat, at the 2009-2011 John Deere Classic.
Since then, 13 players have had a chance to take on Stricker, and none have succeeded. Brooks Koepka came closest to that when he finished second at Pebble Beach in 2019 to win a third straight US Open title.