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Golf

Heath Slocum's Putt on 18 Takes All the Fun Out of Playoff Golf at Barclays

Posted Aug 30, 2009 6:20PM By Will Brinson (RSS feed)

Filed Under: PGA, FedEx Cup

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Heath SlocumHeath Slocum was, by all accounts, the unlikeliest of golfers to win the Barclays. Sure, he had the lead late, but Tiger Woods was charging, Ernie Els was just a stroke back, Steve Stricker was matching him shot-for-shot and, most importantly, he had a lengthy par putt on 18 to secure, at worst, a playoff with Stricker.

But he buried the putt, Stricker missed and Slocum only had to avoid an eagle hole-out from Frederik Jacobson to win the Barclays -- his third tournament win ever -- in surprising fashion given his 72 and 70 in the second and third rounds, respectively.

Webb Simpson, who led the majority of the tournament, must have heard the proverbial footsteps that we talk about any time Tiger is just a few strokes behind the leaders heading into Sunday of a tournament. Either that or we can just chalk up Simpson's Sunday meltdown to inexperience.

Of course, if Simpson wants, he can just act like it was "opposite day" and we'd all believe him -- after all, Tiger Woods missed a 10-foot birdie opportunity on 18 that would have given him a share of the lead with Stricker and Slocum in the final round of the Barclays.

But the drama didn't end with Tiger's missed putt; Slocum and Stricker, as Tiger was busy missing on 18, managed to each find a bunker on 18. And no, parring out the final hole wouldn't have guaranteed them a win, but it would guarantee at worst a Tiger-less playoff.

(Although with Jacobson needing a birdie plus two bogeys from the aforementioned bunker-bound leaders, there wasn't necessarily any sort of amalgamated group of golfers preparing for a playoff that would be surprising at that point.)

Unfortunately, go-for-the-green bunker shots that accidentally turn into lay-ups typically aren't great indicators of future success and it was two shots later that Stricker and Slocum found themselves needing harder putts than Tiger faced in order to stay out of the, dare I say, jungle.

Slocum managed to bury his putt, however, and all the potential drama of a six-person playoff (which would rule much more than the idea of playoff golf) suddenly dissipated and Slocum was by himself atop the leaderboard, epitomizing the awesomeness of postseason golf.

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Tiger Woods hits a shot on the eighth hole during the final round of The Barclays golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
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    Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea, holds the Havemeyer Trophy after winning the 109th U.S. Amateur Golf Championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea, holds the Havermeyer Trophy after winning the U.S. Amateur golf championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C., reacts after missing a putt on the 12th green during the second round in the final of the U.S. Amateur golf championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. Martin lost 7 and 5 to Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C., reacts down after chipping from the rough into a bunker on the 25th green during the final round of the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea, chips onto the first green during the final round of the final of the U.S. Amateur golf championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. An defeated Ben Martin 7 and 5 in the 36-hole final. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Nick Watney celebrates his birdie putt on the 18th hole during the final round of The Barclays golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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    Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea, pumps his fist after hitting his putt on the 11th green during the second round in the final of the U.S. Amateur golf championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. An, 17, became the youngest U.S. Amateur champion, defeating Ben Martin 7 and 5. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea, pumps his fist after hitting his putt on the 1th green during the second round in the final of the U.S. Amateur golf championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. An, 17, defeated Ben Martin 7 and 5 to become the youngest U.S. Amateur champion. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Byeong-Hun An, right, of South Korea, shakes hands with Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C., after Martin received his runner-up medal for the U.S. Amateur golf championship in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. An, 17, became the youngest winner of the tournament. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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    Byeong-Hun An, of South Korea, right, is congratulated by Ben Martin, of Greenwood, S.C., left, after An defeated Martin for the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship title in Tulsa, Okla., Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. An, 17, becomes the youngest winner of the U.S. Amateur. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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Tags: Ernie+Els, ErnieEls, FedExCup, Heath+Slocum, HeathSlocum, Steve+Stricker, SteveStricker, Tiger+Woods, TigerWoods, Webb+Simpson, WebbSimpson

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