J.T. Poston outduels Ryan Gerard to claim Memorial in breakthrough playoff victory

DUBLIN, Ohio — No matter how it played out, Saturday night was the most important sleep of J.T. Poston’s life.

He’d either survive 31 holes of golf with a four-shot lead on a near-evil test at Muirfield Village to earn the biggest win of his career, or he’d go back to bed Sunday knowing he blew it. He’d try and fail to sleep, knowing Monday morning he’d wake up to play another 36 holes down the road for a U.S. Open qualifier. Things would never be the same for Poston, no matter what.

Turns out, it took 33 holes.

Poston finished the marathon by outlasting Ryan Gerard in a two-hole playoff to win the Memorial Tournament, the 33-year-old journeyman earning his biggest victory on perhaps the toughest test of the PGA Tour season.

As his caddie, Aaron Flener, celebrated with friends and family, fellow caddie Scott Vail shouted: “An extra two holes is better than an extra 36 big dog!”

Flener concurred, the jovial, large gentleman falling to the ground with his arms outstretched as CBS analyst Colt Knost poured a beer over his mouth.

Poston and Flener were deflated, in part because of the challenge they just survived.

At Jack Nicklaus’ place among superstars like Scottie Scheffler, who said he thought he was going to shoot 90 on Friday, and Justin Thomas, who called the second round the “hardest round of golf that I can remember,” Poston’s Friday 65 lapped the field and thrust him atop the leaderboard. Then, when many expected him to return to the mean, he survived a Saturday rain stoppage and an early Sunday start to shoot 69 and extend his lead. After a two-hour break, the leaders were back out for the final.

At 1:35 p.m., Poston had a four-shot lead on the field. By 4:30 p.m., he bogeyed three of five holes to drop to 9 under par behind Gerard and Sam Burns. It appeared Poston was the classic case of the usurper fading on a difficult test.

Instead, he birdied 14. And 15. He parred 16, then laid up from trouble on 17 before an impressive up-and-down saved par to stay alive. Unfortunately, Gerard made a 37-foot birdie putt to carry a one-shot lead into 18.

“Before Ryan putted on 17,” Flener said, “I told him, ‘You’re going to make this for par, and we’re going to birdie 18 to win,’ but I didn’t know Ryan was going to make that one. It turned into, ‘You’re going to birdie 18 to tie.’”

That’s what happened. On the toughest hole of the week, Nicklaus’ brutal uphill 18th, Poston had 170 yards to the top left pin. Poston’s 8-iron is enough to reach that anyway, but Poston told Flener, “I’m juiced.” He argued he’d take some power off the 8-iron, to which Flener said, “Your name’s on the bag, not mine.”

It was the shot of the week, landing just three feet in front of the hole to force a playoff. Two holes later, Gerard three-putted to hand the trophy to Poston for his fourth career PGA Tour win.

So no, Poston will not need to play 67 holes over 48 hours to make the U.S. Open — or 69 for that matter. He tied that all up himself Sunday. And he might have finally pushed his career to the next level, too.

A little golf trivia.

How many Tour Championships has J.T. Poston made? Answer: Just one.

Yet the 33-year-old has made the second leg of the PGA Tour’s playoffs — the BMW Championship — six of the last seven years.

Infuriating. To be so good, so steady, so consistent in your prime years to finish in the top 50-70 players on tour every single year, yet be incapable of crossing that threshold into being a true top-30 player. To be trapped in a tier of good, not great.

Among the fallout from golf’s recent civil war, one theme has been an establishing and further codifying of those tiers. Breaking out of one’s caste feels more difficult than ever.

So for Poston to break through — at Muirfield Village of all places — represents the dream for players of Poston’s ilk. To arrive at a major championship-like test not qualified for the next major and launch yourself into security with a $4 million paycheck? It’s the rare time meritocracy wins.