Near the end of a long Sunday filled with twists, there was Luke List standing in the dusk as the unlikely winner of the Sanderson Farms Championship.
List, who stayed just behind the leaders for much of the final round at Jackson Country Club in Mississippi’s capital, holed a 43-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to emerge from a five-man playoff with his second career PGA Tour victory.
“It’s been a roller coaster. I just hung in there. I didn’t think it would be enough, but here we are,” said List, who finished regulation at 18-under-par 270, tied with Ludvig Åberg, Ben Griffin, Henrik Norlander and Scott Stallings. List earned $1.476 million from the $8.2 million purse.
While List found himself celebrating, Griffin was left with the sting of letting a first tour victory slip his grasp. Griffin brought a three-stroke lead into Sunday but didn’t have the crispness that had put him out front.
Griffin struggled to the finish, making five bogeys over his last 11 holes. Still, he stood over an 8-foot putt on the 72nd green to win, only to see the putt graze the right edge of the cup, setting up the playoff.
Three years ago, Griffin had quit professional golf and was a mortgage loan officer, only to rediscover his passion and play his way onto the PGA Tour where he was the last player to qualify for the FedEx Cup, finishing the regular season in 70th position.
“I just didn't hit very good shots pretty much all day,” Griffin said. “I got out of position a lot, and I saved bogeys when I needed to, maybe got a tough break here or there with a plugged lie, whatever it may be. It's hard closing out on the PGA Tour, and I should have got it done. It's a bummer. But I'll be back.”
It was a chaotic finish as Griffin struggled to hang on to the lead. For a few moments, Norlander had the lead midway through the back nine but quickly surrendered it.
Carl Yuan holed his second shot on the par-4 17th to get within a stroke of the lead but bogeyed the closing hole after hitting his tee shot in the rough to miss the crowded playoff by one stroke.
After watching Åberg’s long birdie putt on a similar line on the first playoff hole, List stepped in and showed himself to be an excellent student, getting a good read on the downhill right-to-left putt that he poured into the center of the hole.
From there, he watched as Griffin, Stallings and Norlander failed to match him.
“This is why we play,” said List, who started the week at No. 119 in the FedEx Cup points race and was playing to assure himself full tour privileges in 2024. “I just kind of willed it in.”
A resident of Augusta, Georgia, List also punched his ticket to the Masters in April.
“To sleep in my own bed in April is a good thing,” List said.
Ron Green Jr.