Will Zalatoris held his nerve for a clutch par putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, setting up a dramatic three-hole showdown where he defeated Sepp Straka to claim his first career PGA Tour win.

Straka came into Sunday's final round at 12 under – one stroke off leader J.J. Spaun – while Zalatoris was one shot further back at 11 under with Cameron Smith. When Spaun imploded, going on to shoot Sunday's worst round with a 78, and Smith was handed a two-stroke penalty prior to his round for an illegal drop earlier in the tournament, the field fell away and left just Straka and Zalatoris at the top.

Zalatoris continued to shed his reputation as a poor putter, and he did so in the biggest moments, draining a must-make 10-footer on the last hole to finish his tournament at 15 under, where he and Straka were three strokes clear of the pack – and the playoff was anything but boring.

On the first playoff hole – the 18th, which was playing as the toughest hole on the course – both players reached the green in regulation, and while neither were in true birdie range, Zalatoris had a significantly longer distance to cover. But he showed why he was ranked number one for lag putting this week and was able to tap-in from a foot to head to the second hole.

Replaying the 18th, Zalatoris' tee shot hit the cart path, seemingly handing Straka the tournament, but then Straka put his tee shot so close to the water's edge that he opted to take the penalty instead of trying to hack one out with a foot in the water.

Straka pulled off what would usually be a title-winning approach shot, taking an aggressive line and landing six feet from the hole, but due to the penalty stroke it allowed Zalatoris to chip back out into the fairway and bring his approach to just over 10 feet, where he would sink another incredibly gutsy putt to extend things to a third playoff hole.

After losing two playoffs this season, Zalatoris would have felt the trophy slipping out of his hands when his tee shot on the par-three 11th hole found the rock wall on the fringe of the water. He was not in the water, but the shot was unplayable, meaning a par would give Straka the win – and then Straka landed in the water.

The Austrian's next shot sailed over the green into the bunker, while Zalatoris' second try at his approach was perfect, giving himself another seven-footer for the win, and he made no mistakes.

With the win, Zalatoris avoided becoming the player with the most prize money in a season without a victory, raising his season earnings to over $9million in the process with his $2.7m winner's cheque.

American duo Lucas Glover and Brian Harman finished tied for third at 12 under, while Spain's Jon Rahm, England's Matt Fitzpatrick and Australia's Adam Scott were part of the seven-man group tied for fifth at 11 under.

After his two-stroke penalty, Cameron Smith finished at nine under with rising star Joo-hyung 'Tom' Kim, with Viktor Hovland at eight under, and Wyndham Clark snuck into the next round of the playoffs as his seven under finish moved him up to exactly 70th in the FedEx Cup standings.

American J.J. Spaun is 18 holes away from a wire-to-wire victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship after finishing Saturday one stroke clear of the chasing field, shooting a two-under 68 to head in at 13 under.

After rounds of 62 and 67 had Spaun leading at the conclusion of each of the first two rounds, he opened his round on Saturday with nine consecutive pars, but after bogeying the 10th, he responded with birdies on 11, 16 and 17.

Austria's Sepp Straka was all set to finish tied with Spaun at 13 under before he bogeyed the 18th, leaving him in outright second-place at 12 under.

A pair of serious challengers are part of the three-man group tied for third at 11 under, with Trey Mullinax being joined by potential PGA Tour Player of the Year Cameron Smith and consistent major contender Will Zalatoris.

Zalatoris, specifically, has been in sparkling form after struggling to a one-over opening round, shooting Friday's round of the day with a 63, and only Im Sung-jae posted a better Saturday score than his 65.

In classic Zalatoris fashion, his work with the putter was not pretty – dropping 0.38 shots on the greens according to Data Golf's strokes gained stats – but he thrived from tee-to-green, finishing with the most strokes gained from approach shots (2.90) while coming in third in the off-the-tee category (1.78).

American duo Tyler Duncan and Troy Merritt are tied for sixth at 10 under, while Saturday's top performer Im rode his terrific round to join the logjam at nine under, which features the red-hot Tony Finau and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Last week's winner Joo-hyung 'Tom' Kim is a further shot back at eight under along with South Korean compatriot Lee Kyoung-hoon, America's Collin Morikawa and Chile's Joaquin Niemann, with Spain's Jon Rahm and Australia's Adam Scott part of the small group at seven under.

After shooting a 62 on Thursday to be the early joint-leader, Kim Si-woo's week has taken a turn for the worst as he followed it with a 73 on Friday and a 72 on his third trip around TPC Southwind.

South Korea's Kim Si-woo and American J.J. Spaun are the co-leaders at eight under after one round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.

Being the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the field is made up of the top-125 from this season's FedEx Cup standings, minus LIV Golf signees Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford, who failed to have their exclusions overturned by a judge earlier this week.

Spaun shot a bogey-free 62 with eight birdies, while Kim posted seven birdies, an eagle and a solitary bogey on the par-three fourth hole.

Speaking on the broadcast after his round, Spaun said he hopes his performance during the playoffs will book his place at The Masters next year.

"It will be nice to punch another ticket there and be able to plan it out and get down Sunday, maybe even Saturday the week before, take my time and enjoy all the little things that come along with that great tradition," he said. "Hopefully keep playing well this week and the next couple weeks, and I'll be there."

In outright third place is Sahith Theegala at seven under, while one further shot back tied for fourth are Austria's Sepp Straka, South Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon, American J.T. Poston and the red-hot Tony Finau, fresh off back-to-back PGA Tour wins for the first time in his career. Finau has shot no worse than 68 from his past 10 rounds.

The logjam in a tie for eighth at five under includes England's Tyrrell Hatton, Australia's former world number one Jason Day, and Rickie Fowler, who barely squeezed into the final field. Last week's 20-year-old first-time winner Joo-hyung 'Tom' Kim highlights the group at four under, along with Adam Scott.

Many of the serious contenders are at three under, including Cam Smith, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, and they are one stroke ahead of major winners Matt Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry at two under.

Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy shot even-par 70s, and the pair of Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris have plenty of work to do after finishing at one over.

Scheffler was responsible for arguably the round's most viral moment as he caught a side-eye from playing partner Smith when he walked right in front of the Australian while he was lining up a putt, with many speculating it was an intentional slight due to reports Smith has signed on with LIV Golf for next season.

Around this time a year ago, the pervasive narrative surrounding Tony Finau was that of a PGA Tour star who just couldn't find a way to close. Time and again, the Utah native would charge up weekend leaderboards only to come up short at the end. 

"They say a winner is just a loser that just kept on trying, and that's me to a T," he said. "How many times do I lose?"

The answer? Well, let's put it this way: he hasn't been losing much these days.

After winning just once in his first 188 career starts, Finau now finds himself on the heels of back-to-back wins at the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic. Add in his breakthrough victory in last season's FedEx Cup opener, and the Salt Lake City resident has found the winner's circle three times in his last 25 starts.

Suffice to say, the narrative has changed.

"I put myself in situations to win before, haven't been able to do it, but I'm very optimistic," Finau said. "I've always been that way. I've always had hope and faith that things will turn out if I just keep working hard and putting myself there. 

"I challenge myself every week to just push past what I feel like I'm capable of; by that I mean just my emotions, those hurdles that you face during a tournament. I proved to myself these last couple weeks that I've done that and won some golf tournaments. I'm proud of the way that I fought through adversity through my career and now I'm a back-to-back champion. That's what happens."

At the 3M Open, he erased a five-shot deficit with 11 holes to play after overnight leader Scott Piercy tripled the 14th hole. It was much smoother a week later, as the 32-year-old cruised to a five-shot triumph and a tournament record 26-under 262 total. 

Finau hit a career-best 66 greens in regulation in that second victory, which also marked the third-most by a winner on the PGA Tour since 1980. Aaron Wise and Hale Irwin matched that feat at the 2018 Byron Nelson and 1981 Sony Open, respectively, while Peter Jacobsen holds the record with 69 greens in regulation at the 1995 Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Willie Wood hit 67 greens en route to the 1996 Sanderson Farms Championship.

His precision netted Finau a plus-4.65 stroke differential from the field average, his highest difference during an event on the PGA Tour. It barely edged out the career-best he set just a week prior at the 3M Open (plus-4.37) and safely beat his next-best marks of plus-3.70 (2021 St. Jude Championship) and plus-2.73, set at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, site of his first Tour victory.

Xander does it, too 

But Finau wasn't the only player making significant moves in July. Though his triumphs didn't come in consecutive weeks, Xander Schauffele also managed to find the winner's circle in back-to-back appearances.

After winning the Travelers Championship in late June, the former gold medallist travelled across the pond and did it all over again in his next start at the Scottish Open. He became the third player to pick up at least three wins this season (Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns are the others) and is one of three players to win this year in consecutive starts (Scheffler and Finau).

But how Schauffele did it may be the most impressive aspect. The San Diego native trailed by a whopping 11 strokes after the opening round, marking the largest 18-hole deficit overcome by a PGA Tour winner in a four-round event in the last 39 years. Seven other players rallied from 10-shot deficits – most recently Webb Simpson at the 2020 Phoenix Open – but no one overcame the odds that Schauffele did.

"Overall, I'm playing some of the best golf of my life and capitalising on playing really well," Schauffele said. "There's a lot of times [when] professionals play very well but don't get everything out of it, and I feel like I've been successful in getting the most out of my game."

Together, Schauffele and Finau became the fifth and six players to win back-to-back tournaments on Tour since the start of the 2016-17 season, joining Patrick Cantlay, Brendon Todd, Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas.

Cam double-dips

Being able to call yourself The Players champion is one of the most prestigious honuors in golf. The biggest names in the sport have all done it, from Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy.

But add in a victory at The Open Championship and you're in unprecedented territory.

That's exactly what Australian Cameron Smith did in July at golf's oldest championship, edging out McIlroy at St Andrews to win the Claret Jug. He became just the second player in history to win The Players and Open Championship in the same year, joining none other than Nicklaus. He, too, also won his major at the historic St Andrews after winning The Players earlier in 1978.

It wasn't Smith's only achievement that week. No winner had ever closed with a 64 at St Andrews before he did it, while his finishing score of 20-under 268 set a new Old Course record. It tied the lowest score to par in major championship history – Henrik Stenson shot 20 under at Royal Troon in 2016 – and his back-nine 30 was the lowest ever by an Open Championship winner.

"I got beaten by the better player this week," McIlroy said. "To go out and shoot 64 to win The Open Championship at St Andrews is a hell of a showing. Hats off to Cam."

Smith is the first Australian to win the Claret Jug since 1993 and the first to do it at St Andrews since Kel Nagle staved off Arnold Palmer in 1960.

"Those guys are great players. They weren't going to give it to me. I had to take it," Smith said. "It was a good thing that I was behind. My mindset would have been a touch different coming in, especially on that back nine, if I was ahead."

Tony Finau became the first player since Brendon Todd in 2019 to win back-to-back PGA Tour events, taking advantage of the friendly conditions to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic by five shots.

Finau – who entered the final round with a four-stroke lead along with Taylor Pendrith – made six birdies and one bogey in a closing five-under 67 at Detroit Golf Club. It was his only dropped shot of the tournament, after just three bogeys last weekend in his 3M Open triumph.

The 32-year-old finished on an incredible 26 under, with Patrick Cantlay, Pendrith and Cameron Young tied for second place.

Prior to that 3M Open success, Finau had only two wins for his career, and one since the 2015-16 season, with the notoriously mediocre putter figuring things out on the greens. 

He entered the week as the 142nd best putter on the tour this season, but was the 13th best in that discipline for the tournament among players to make the cut, according to Data Golf's strokes gained stat. 

It made a devastating combination when combined with his strong tee-to-green stats – clearly the best of the week, gaining 3.44 strokes on the field in that area, 0.73 more than any other player.

Speaking to the CBS after stepping off the 18th green, Finau said it feels extremely rewarding to have his hard work culminate in such an incredible fortnight.

"It feels amazing, last week was amazing," he said. 

"I was actually quite disappointed in my finish last week, and all I wanted to do this week was show that I am a winner and a champion. I think I did that today.

"The work has been relentless, and to be able to just get rewarded for it… you never know in this game, but you keep your head up, put one foot after the other and good things can happen. That's what's happened the last couple weeks for me."

Pendrith started the day as co-leader, before finishing as one of 16 players to shoot 72 or worse.

A 72 saw Pendrith's challenge fade, while Cantlay signed for a 66 and Young carded a 68.

Germany's Stephan Jaeger finished alone in fifth at 20 under, America's Taylor Moore was sixth as the only player at 19 under, and South Korea's Kim Jooh-yung tied the tournament record with a nine-under 63 to shoot up the leaderboard into outright seventh at 18 under.

Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun both shot 65s to finish tied for eighth at 17 under.

Tony Finau posted the equal-best score from the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Saturday, with his seven-under 65 pulling him even with Taylor Pendrith after entering the day one stroke off the pace.

Finau and Pendrith were co-leaders after the first round, and after building a multi-stroke buffer from the rest of the field after 36 holes, they added to it again to finish at 21 under – four strokes clear of Cameron Young in third-place.

Each player showed a different skill set, with Pendrith displaying a strong feel in his ability to finish holes – posting the seventh-best strokes gained figure from Data Golf on approach shots (2,07 strokes gained) and the 11th-best with the putter (1.98).

Finau, on the other hand, shined with his driver, finishing second in strokes gained off the tee (1.98) and third in tee-to-green (3.97) while being just average around the greens.

After winning this past weekend's 3M Championship, Finau now has a chance to win back-to-back PGA Tour events for the first time in his career, while Pendrith is hunting his first PGA Tour victory.

Young was one of five players to match Finau's 65, and he sits alone in third at 17 under, with Germany's Stephan Jaeger in fourth at 16 under, and Patrick Cantlay rounds out the top-five as the only player at 15 under.

Scott Stallings is alone at 14 under, with South Korea's Kim Si-woo and Canada's Adam Svensson in the groups at 13 under and 12 under respectively to complete the top-10.

Reigning champion of this event Cam Davis also shot 65 to fly up the leaderboard, tied for 16th at 10 under after finishing his second round right on the cut-line of three under.

It was the opposite story for compatriot Adam Scott, who entered the day in a strong position at nine under and proceeded to shoot a 78, finishing as by far the worst putter on Saturday, losing 5.62 strokes on the greens.

Taylor Pendrith is heading into the weekend at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in great touch, following up his equal-best first round 64 with Friday's second-best score of 65 to head into the clubhouse at 15 under.

Pendrith was the field's best performer off the tee in his second trip around the course, gaining 2.28 strokes according to strokes gained data, collecting eight birdies and one bogey, including birdies on all four of the course's par-fives.

He was co-leader with Tony Finau after 18 holes, and Finau managed to stay in touch with a strong 66 to sit one shot off the pace. In uncharacteristic fashion, Finau was a top-five performer with the putter (3.02 strokes gained).

In outright third is Lee Hodges, two strokes further back after his second consecutive 66, and there is another two-stroke gap to the three-man group tied for fourth.

At 10 under is Russell Henley, Stewart Cink and Cameron Young, with the latter shooting the round of the day with his nine-under 63.

Young's incredible day included seven birdies and an eagle, posting the most strokes gained from tee-to-green (5.72), while also being third in approach shots (3.02) and 11th with his putter (2.35).

A strong international contingent is in the group with Patrick Cantlay at nine under rounding out the top-10, including Australia's Adam Scott, Germany's Stephan Jaeger and South Korea's Kim Si-woo.

England's Callum Tarren is one further back at eight under, compatriot Matt Wallace is at seven under, and fellow Englishman Danny Willett is at six under.

Reigning champion of this event Cam Davis finished right on the cut-line at three under, with Kevin Kisner and Davis Riley narrowly missing out.

Just days after winning the 3M Open, Tony Finau has put together a terrific eight-under 64 to earn the position of joint-leader at the Rocket Mortgage Classic after the first round of play.

Finau came from five shots back on Sunday to lift this past weekend's trophy, and he kept that momentum going with a bogey-free round, birdieing three holes on the front-nine and five down the back.

He finished with the most strokes gained on approach shots (4.20 strokes gained), and was third in strokes gained off the tee (1.65).

Speaking to the media after stepping off the 18th green, Finau acknowledged his rich run of form, and the fact that it was the first round of his career where he had hit all 18 greens in regulation.

"I was riding the high off last week," he said. "I didn’t know that fact before today, that I haven’t hit all 18 greens, so to be able to do that here today is pretty cool."

The only other player at eight under is Canada's Taylor Pendrith, who had nine birdies, and then bogeyed the 18th hole to give up the outright lead.

That pairing is two strokes clear of the chasing field, with England's Matt Wallace and the American group of Michael Thompson, Webb Simpson, Cameron Champ and Lee Hodges all posting 66s.

There is strong international representation in the logjam tied for eighth at five under, including South Korea's Kim Si-woo, Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, England's Callum Tarren and Sweden's Henrik Norlander.

Australia's Cam Davis is one further back at four under, his compatriots Adam Scott and Jason Day are at three-under, while England's Danny Willett and strong major performer Will Zalatoris are flirting with the cut-line at two under.

Tony Finau produced a terrific Sunday performance to win the 3M Open with a final score of 17 under par – even if It was not quite a comfortable finish.

The American completed his final round with six birdies and two bogeys to post the equal second-best score of the day with a 67. One bogey came on the 18th after Finau teed off into the water, but he was never in any real danger after starting that hole with a four-stroke lead.

Finau's charge to the front of the field began during his back nine, when he rattled off four birdies over the course of six holes – including three in a row on 14, 15 and 16 – perfectly coinciding with the collapse of 54-hole leader Scott Piercy.

Speaking to CBS after stepping off the 18th green, Finau said it felt like he was a long way off the lead until it all started to shift.

"[It took] really everything I had," he said. "I was playing great, and every time I looked it up it seemed like I was four or five shots back, really all day.

"I really got things going down the back nine, and once I took control of the golf tournament it was a totally different mindset, trying to seal the deal.

"It's so special just to have my family here with me, and to celebrate this win with them… this one was for them."

Piercy began his day at 18 under with a four-stroke lead, and he was cruising early, making a couple of early birdies to jump out to 20 under, with his buffer extending to five. But everything began to fall apart on the eighth hole.

After back-to-back bogeys on eight and nine, Piercy also bogeyed 11, teased a bounce-back with a birdie on 12, and then capitulated with bogey, triple-bogey, bogey from his next three holes to go tumbling down the leaderboard. Over the course of eight holes, he dropped seven shots, completely eliminating himself from contention.

Piercy finished tied for fourth at 13 under after his 76, along with fellow Americans Tom Hoge and James Hahn, with Hahn's six-under 65 ending up two strokes better than any other final round.

That grouping was one stroke behind Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and South Korea Im Sung-jae, who were tied for second at 14 under.

Rounding out the top 10 were the English pairing of Danny Willett and Callum Tarren, tied for seventh at 10 under along with Greyson Sigg, with Chesson Hadley one shot back.

Recent PGA Tour winner J.T. Poston headlined the group at eight under, and Australia's Cam Davis was at seven under as he prepares to defend his Rocket Mortgage Classic crown this coming week.

Scott Piercy holds a commanding four-stroke lead coming into the final round of the 3M Open, after posting a five-under 66 at TPC Twin Cities.

Coming into moving day with a three-shot lead, Piercy was red-hot on the front nine on a rain-interrupted Saturday in Blaine, Minnesota, scoring five consecutive birdies between holes three and seven.

A bogey on the par-five 18th to close out the round put him on 18-under after 54 holes, moving him four shots clear of Emiliano Grillo in second.

Piercy's last win on the PGA Tour came alongside Billy Horschel as the 2018 Zurich Classic, with his last solo win on the tour going back three years further, taking out the 2015 Barbasol Championship.

Grillo's last win on the PGA Tour also came in 2015, winning the Frys.com Open in a playoff, and he's in contention despite an up-and-down third round amid suitable conditions.

Afternoon thunderstorms caused the third round to be moved up, and without much, the more accessible pin locations and shortened course distance made for low scores.

Grillo and Im Sung-jae were the only players to finish Saturday in the leaderboard's top ten with a third-round score of less than five-under.

Going four-under over the opening six holes after an eagle on the par-five sixth, the Argentine also had to birdie the last to make up for bogeys on the ninth and 15th holes.

Doug Ghim and Tom Hoge are a further stroke back on 13-under, with both posting scores of six-under 65 for their third rounds.

After three consecutive birdies between five and seven, Finau made an extraordinary par save on the par-four ninth, after failing to make the green with his opening three shots.

With the ball nestled in the rough just off the green, the 32-year-old turned his putter sideways and after a couple of practice strokes, made a 34-foot save with the putter's toe.

Rory McIlroy saved his best for last to defend his Canadian Open title on Sunday and could not resist a sly dig at LIV Golf chief executive Greg Norman afterwards.

At the end of a chaotic week for the sport, with the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series commencing in competition with the PGA Tour, McIlroy posted his best round of the tournament at St. George's with an eight-under 62.

Playing in the final group with Tony Finau and Justin Thomas, the 33-year-old finished on 19-under for the tournament in front of a packed gallery and secured his 21st PGA Tour win, moving him ahead of Norman's 20.

Though evidently happy he secured the win heading into the U.S. Open, as one of the more vocal critics of LIV Golf, the world number eight made sure everyone knew he was aware he had overtaken Norman.

"Twenty-first PGA Tour win. One more than someone else," he told CBS. "That gave me a little bit of extra incentive today. Happy to get it done.

"It's incredible. Playing with Tony [Finau] and JT [Thomas], two of the top players in the world, and all of us playing the way we did, the worst score in the group was six-under par.

"This is a day I'll remember for a long, long time. I've sort of rededicated myself to the game a little bit, sort of realised what made me happy and this makes me happy."

McIlroy led the entire way on Sunday, starting the final round in a share of the lead with Finau.

He started fast, too, making five birdies on the front nine before commencing the back nine with another three on the bounce.

Bogeys on the 13th and 16th holes opened the door for Thomas and Finau but it was promptly shut, with the Northern Irishman closing out the round with another pair of birdies.

Finau and Thomas finished outright second and third on 17- and 15-under respectively, while Justin Rose tied Sam Burns on 14-under after bogeying the 18th to just miss out on a spectacular sub-60 score.

Tony Finau birdied the final hole for an eight-under 62 on Saturday to share the lead with Rory McIlroy, coming into the final round of the Canadian Open.

Finau had the best round of the tournament so far, scoring an eagle on the par-five ninth before making four birdies on the back nine.

The 32-year-old is looking for only his third PGA Tour victory, with his last win coming in a playoff over Cameron Smith in last year's Northern Trust.

McIlroy had a tricky uphill putt to also birdie on the 18th hole, despite an exceptional approach to set it up, but he had to ultimately two-putt to finish the round after his birdie attempt skimmed over the edge of the cup.

The 33-year-old has been in confident touch at St. George's this week and continued that on Saturday, posting a five-under 65 with assertive driving and wedge-play.

After a bogey on the par-three eighth, the Northern Irishman responded with three birdies over the next four holes, before managing another birdie on the par-five 15th.

The final hole would have been an apt punctuation mark for his third round, after scores of 66 and 68 over the opening two days.

McIlroy has had to wait three years to defend his 2019 title, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing a cancellation of the tournament in 2020 and 2021.

He is among five players ranked in the world's top ten in a high-profile field at Toronto, coming into next weekend's U.S. Open, with Justin Thomas and Sam Burns joined by Wyndham Clark and Alex Smalley on nine-under.

Cameron Smith has recovered from an opening-round six-over 76 to finish on one-under after 54 holes, posting a 68 on Saturday, while world number one Scottie Scheffler scored a disappointing 71.

Sam Burns drained a putt from off the green to win the Charles Schwab Challenge in a playoff against world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Despite making no birdies on Sunday, Scheffler was in contention all day after entering the day in the outright lead, but had to battle with the difficult conditions later in the day to post a 72.

Burns was in much better touch, and had the benefit of getting his 18 holes out of the way earlier before the wind picked up, notching a 65 for the round of the day. 

He was one shot back from a four-way tie at 10 under when he finished his tournament at nine under, and he had to wait two hours to find out – first if the field would come back to him – and then if Scheffler could hold on for the playoff.

Scheffler needed to save a number of tough pars down the back nine, including out of the bunker on the 18th hole to force the playoff, which he did by sinking a clutch five-footer.

In the playoff, after a pair of solid drives, Scheffler found the green a long way from the hole, while Burns put his approach just off the back of the putting surface. Approaching three hours since his last putt, Burns drained an incredible tournament-winner, with Scheffler not able to match him from distance.

Speaking to the media after securing the win, Burns said it was a hard-fought result.

"I think, just with the conditions today, and how tough it was playing, I'm just so proud of the way we hung in there," he said.

"I just played such a good round of golf today, and [caddie] Travis [Perkins] did a good job of keeping us in it, especially after hitting a foul ball at 12 which killed our momentum. Hitting that putt – that's just icing on the cake."

It is 11 years since Burns attended Colonial Country Club in person to witness David Toms win the Crowne Plaza Invitational, and he said it is hard to believe he is a champion at the same course.

"I don't know if I would've believed you – I remember that week like it was yesterday," he said.

"To finish it off here, and have [Toms'] family here… to add my name on that list now is really cool."

Scheffler's playing partner Brendon Todd finished one stroke outside the playoff, alone in third at eight under, while American trio Tony Finau, Davis Riley and Scott Stallings collected top-five finishes, tied for fourth at seven under. Finau and Burns were the only two players to shoot 67 or better in the final two rounds as the conditions worsened throughout the weekend.

A strong group rounded out the top-10, with pre-tournament favourite Jordan Spieth and US PGA Championship main character Mito Pereira headlining the five-man bunching in a tie for seventh at five under,

Spieth, Riley and Im Sung-jae – who was part of the logjam at three under – were the only three players to shoot 70 or better in all four rounds.

Norway's Victor Hovland was one of two players to finish at two under, while New Zealand's Danny Lee tied Burns for the round of the day, with his Sunday 65 bringing him to one under for the tournament.

Harold Varner III was part of the four-way tie for the lead at 10 under through 11 holes, but went triple-bogey, double-bogey, triple-bogey over his next three holes to plunge down the leaderboard and finish at even par.

Talor Gooch and Webb Simpson joined him at even par, Tommy Fleetwood finished at one over, and Collin Morikawa never shot worse than 71, but never shot better than 70 to finish two over.

World number two Jon Rahm scored a two-under 69 on Sunday to hold on for a one-shot victory at the Mexico Open.

Rahm's last win came at the US Open in 2021 at Torrey Pines, and it showed as the 27-year-old pumped his fist after holing his par putt on the 18th at the Vidanta course.

There was a sense of relief for the Spaniard, with only one tournament win out of seven times on the PGA Tour where he came into the final day with at least a share of the lead.

With scores of 64, 66, 68 and 69 over the four days, Rahm kept it steady after setting the initial marker after 18 holes, but he still had to deliver when it counted.

After bogeying the par-four 10th for the third consecutive day, there was a four-way tie for the lead as Rahm came to the 14th hole.

He eventually birdied for the third consecutive day on the 14th, despite leaving himself with a tricky left-to-right putt for the up-and-down.

Not dropping a shot for the rest of round, Rahm finished a stroke clear on 17-under for the tournament, ahead of Kurt Kitayama, as well as the fast-finishing Tony Finau and Brandon Wu.

Finau and Wu both posted scores of 63 on the final day in Vidanta, both scoring eagles on respective par fives on the 14th and sixth holes.

Finau's last win came in a playoff against Cameron Smith at The Northern Trust in 2021, and after going five-under from the final six holes, it seemed like another playoff could be on the cards.

Rahm kept his nerve however, and held on for his seventh tournament win on the PGA Tour.

In doing so, he overtook Jose Maria Olazabal (six) for the third-most Tour wins by a Spaniard.

Tournament favourite Jon Rahm is joint-leader of the Mexico Open, posting a seven-under 64 in Thursday's first round.

Rahm, ranked number two in the world, went bogey-free in his round, with six birdies and an eagle on the par-four seventh hole.

He is in a five-way tie atop the leaderboard with Americans Jonathan Byrd, Trey Mullinax, Bryson Nimmer and Brendon Todd.

Speaking with the media after stepping off the 18th green, Rahm highlighted his success with the driver, finding the fairway with 12 of his 13 long-balls.

"When I feel at my best, I’m pretty much comfortable hitting driver anywhere," he said

"It was one of those rounds where it felt like everything clicked together. Short game was good, had a chip-in, putting was good and tee to green was fantastic… probably as solid a round as I played all year."

While he enjoyed his round, Rahm spoke about how the conditions changed towards the end of his day, and how it could play far tougher the rest of the weekend.

"Although I went into a little dry spell, I didn’t care about it so much because it is not the easiest golf course," he said.

"The one thing to keep in mind for people watching the scores – there’s a big difference between morning and afternoon (conditions). We had no wind for 13, 14 holes – it’s very, very scoreable. 

"Once the wind starts going 20, 30 miles an hour, this golf course starts showing some teeth."

England's Aaron Rai is one shot further back, along with Sahith Theegala, Aaron Wise and Scott Brown, trailed by a large group at five under, highlighted by Colombia's Sebastian Munoz.

Cameron Champ and Patrick Reed are one more shot back at four under, while Alvaro Ortiz is the highest placed of the Mexican contingent at three under, ahead of Armando Favela and Carlos Ortiz, who both shot 70.

In-form Davis Riley finished at two under, while Tony Finau and Cameron Tringale had disappointing days at even par, with the latter bogeying both the 17th and 18th to finish his round.