JT Poston built a four-shot lead Sunday morning in the rain-delayed Memorial and won the biggest tournament of his career. It just turned out to be a lot more work than he would have imagined.
Poston made a seven-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to salvage an even-par 72 and force a playoff with Ryan Gerard, then won on the second extra hole when Gerard missed a six-foot par putt. It was Poston’s fourth PGA Tour victory and a $4 million payday.
It was an incredible finish to what was perhaps the biggest late-game logjam in the history of the Memorial, which this year celebrated its 50th anniversary. With just two holes remaining, five players were tied for the lead.
Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and 2025 FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood were all part of the scrum at 11 under par. But Burns and Fleetwood bogeyed the 17th hole, and Clark made two pars coming home. He shot a final-round 67 to finish alone in third at 11 under par. Fleetwood, who briefly took the lead with an eagle at the 15th, shot 68 to share fourth with Burns, who had a 69.
The final round was a grind. Poston lost his four-shot cushion after consecutive bogeys on 12 and 13, trailing for the first time since Thursday.
RELATED: 2026 U.S. Open Preview: Shinnecock Hills Returns as Scheffler Chases the Grand Slam
He didn’t fold. “I’m not a quitter, so I hung in there,” Poston said. “I just told myself I hit a great putt on 13, right where I wanted, and just didn’t fall. But I told myself on the 14th tee I was one back with five to go, still felt like I had a chance. I needed to play the last five holes really well. And I told myself I knew I was going to be shaking Mr. Nicklaus’ hand walking off 18 no matter what, and I want to be proud of the effort when I did. So just to do it the way that I did, birdieing three of the last five, is a dream come true and something I’ll certainly carry with me the rest of my career.”
Playing in the final group for the second week in a row, Gerard, 26, holed a 38-foot left-to-right birdie putt on the 17th to take a one-shot lead. “But I didn’t think I had the tournament won,” Gerard said after settling for his third runner-up finish of the year.
Poston still faced a downhill 11-footer for par. He drained it. “After Ryan made his putt, that made that par putt honestly a little easier. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I had to make it.”
When he stuck his 8-iron approach from 162 yards on 18 and sank another must-make putt, he and Gerard were headed to the 11th playoff in Memorial history.
Poston had a chance to win on the first extra hole but pushed his birdie try from eight feet. On the second, Gerard knocked his birdie attempt from 54 feet almost six feet past the hole, then missed the par putt on the low side. Poston ended it with a two-putt from 33 feet.
RELATED: Notable Groups, Tee Times Set for 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills
The win came at the right time in more ways than one. Poston collected the lone exemption to The Open Championship via the Open Qualifying Series and avoided Monday’s 36-hole final qualifying for the U.S. Open by jumping from 94th in the world to No. 39.
“I sort of told myself in the playoff that this is my U.S. Open qualifier,” Poston said. “This is my chance to get in. I want to play in the majors. I want to play in the big events. This is a huge boost of confidence for me and my game and knowing that I can compete in those and play in those. Just thrilled to get it done.”
The win capped a difficult season. Poston entered the week ranked outside the top 100 in strokes gained/putting for the first time since his rookie season of 2016-17. He changed putters the week prior at Colonial, and what has long been a strength of his game returned. He ranked third in putting at Muirfield Village, gaining +6.865 in strokes gained/putting.
“It sounds like a dream,” Poston said. “Just incredibly proud, incredibly humbled. This is one of the events that we have circled on our calendar at the start of the year every year, and it just feels amazing to get it done and just to be a part of the rich history here.”
He was asked about the patience it took to grind through a rough stretch. “I think it’s natural to have some doubts, and I think it’s certainly something that I’ve been working on this year,” Poston said. “It’s tested my patience more than any other year out here for me. I think this is just great validation that if I keep my head down and keep working on it and keep doing what I know is the right thing to do to play my best golf, then I can win big golf tournaments.”
Even tournament host Jack Nicklaus took notice. “That was some really, really good golf,” the Golden Bear said.
Poston shook Nicklaus’ hand on the 18th green, just as he promised himself he would.
