Greensboro, NC — Kevin Kisner has won the 2021 Wyndham Championship, and it’s his first win via a playoff. Reminiscent of the recent “Battle for the Bronze” Olympic medal just a few weeks ago, there was a massive 6-man playoff in the last tournament of the PGA Tour season before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin. That playoff actually ties the record for most players to move on to extra holes for a PGA Tour event. Out of those six, it was Kisner who scored a birdie on the second playoff hole to claim the title of the Wyndham Championship champion.
In a season that has had its fair share of playoffs, fans were again dazzled with a sudden death duel of half a dozen. The six tied at 15-under for the tournament included Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Branden Grace, Kevin Na, Si-Woo Kim, and of course Kisner himself. This was particularly encouraging for him because Kisner hasn’t always had this kind of success in playoff settings. Despite being in three separate playoffs in 2015, he lost them all. In fact, up until this tournament he was 0/5 in playoff bouts. However, with this win, Kisner moved to 29th in the FedEx Cup rankings.
Others had their chances to win in the larger-than-normal playoff, none with a better opportunity than Adam Scott. He had just over a four-foot putt for birdie to win on the first playoff hole, but lipped out, despite having seen a putt on a similar line made by a competitor a few moments before.
Another player who had a strong chance to win was Russel Henley. After all, he’d led the tournament through three days. However, after his round on Saturday, he told reporters that he was nervous about the lead. Those nerves seemed to get to him, as the tournament slipped through his grasp the last day despite at one point, leading by two shots. He had a chance to make the playoff on the final hole, but three-putted from just off the green to miss the opportunity by just a stroke.
If you can believe it, the playoff was nearly even larger. Along with Henley, both Webb Simpson and Kevin Streelman also just missed out on the playoff by a stroke, and both finished T7 at 14-under par. Coming off of his silver medal performance in Tokyo, Rory Sabbatini also had a solid showing, just missing the playoff at 13-under par for the tournament finishing T10.
Next week, the PGA Tour begins the three-stage FedEx Cup playoffs and heads to The Northern Trust. Last year, Dustin Johnson absolutely decimated the field. He ended up winning the tournament by 11 strokes, but after the recent play that’s caused him to fall from being the number one player in the world, who knows if he’ll be able to defend his title. Johnson will be facing off against the best players in golf, including Colin Morikawa, Jordan Speith, Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama, and many others.
Kevin Kisner’s What’s In The Bag
Driver: Callaway GBB 8.5° head (set to 9.5°) / Fujikura Motore X F1 6X
3 Wood: Callaway Epic Speed Triple Diamond (15°) / Fujikura Motore X F3 7X
Hybrid: Callaway Epic (18°) / Aldila Rogue Black 130 MSI 80 TX
High Irons: Callaway Apex UT (21° and 24°) / Nippon Pro Modus3 120 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex Pro 2014 (5-9) / Nippon Pro Modus3 120 TX
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46°-10F), Callaway Jaws Forged (54°-08M bent to 52°), Vokey Design SM8 WedgeWorks (60°-T) / Nippon Pro Modus3 125
Putter: Odyssey Exo Seven (SuperStroke Traxion Tour 2.0 grip)
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
- The 2023 RSM Classic Recap - November 19, 2023
- Mileseey PF1 Rangefinder Review - November 9, 2023
- The 2023 World Wide Technology Championship Recap - November 5, 2023
