JT Posts at the Shriners Childrens Open.
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JT Poston hadn’t made three holes for 109 consecutive holes on the PGA Tour.
He wasn’t ready to start now.
Poston, who is known for his sweet hitting and calm demeanor, saw both tested by taking the field on Sunday in Shriner’s Children Open. He entered the final round with a three-shot lead and played flawlessly through 15 holes – he had made five birdies and 10 pars to that point – but the final three holes served as another reminder that winning on the PGA Tour is everything but easy.
On the par-5 16th, Poston was in two and hit his third shot to six feet – but missed the short birdie attempt, settling for par. His playing partner Doug Ghim made birdie to get within three.
On the par-3 17th, Poston hit a terrific chip to four feet — but that putt never touched the hole. Now the lead was two.
Then came the 18th. Poston found his way to the final par-4 but played to the middle of the green and left himself nearly 50 feet for birdie. Ghim, meanwhile, almost hit the second in the hole; he would finish a six-footer for birdie. That left Posto with a four-footer to seal the win.
“Yes, I told myself that this is what you dream of. You have a shot at winning on the PGA Tour. Just try and forget the last two. I didn’t hit very good shots on any of them, but I told myself I’ve made a million of them and I’ve only made one more.”
He buried it.
Poston finished the week – which had featured rollercoaster weather, starts and stops and two very different sides of the draw – at 22 under par, shooting (a numerically satisfying sequence of) 64-65-66-67 to earn his third career PGA Tour win. His first win came at the Wyndham Championship in 2019 and his second came at the 2022 John Deere Championship. Now he has another win in a different time zone. He has an invitation to the Masters. He has a top 50 world ranking.
Poston’s win was also his first as a father. He and his wife welcomed their daughter Katherine Scott Poston — who they call “Scottie” — in March.
“That’s definitely pretty sweet,” Poston said. “We’ve had a wonderful fall at home – just being home, being a dad has been the greatest gift.”
Ghim finished second alone with 21 under par. Matti Schmid and Rico Hoey finished T3 at 19 under. Michael Kim, Davis Thompson and KH Lee rounded out the top five at 18 under par. Gary Woodland (T9) posted his best finish since undergoing brain surgery last fall. And amateur Ian Gilligan finished T16 after a 66-65 weekend.
The Fall FedEx Cup continues with next week’s Zozo Championship in Japan.
