Golfers can claim a tournament with four days of solid golf.
They can also win with a brilliant final round.
They can even triumph by catching fire on the back nine on Sunday.
Or maybe just making birdie at the last.
Not many do what Jonathan Byrd did in the 2010 edition of this week’s PGA Tour event, the Shriners Children’s Open.
Late on the final day, American Byrd, Scotland’s Martin Laird, and Australian Cameron Percy tied after regulation play and wondered whether there was time to play the fourth extra hole of the play-off as darkness fell.
But they opted to play the par-3 17th hole and made a gentleman’s agreement to call a halt if any of them was struggling to read the green.
Turns out that no one needed a putter.
Byrd got to play first, pulled a 6-iron for the 204 yards to the pin and hit.
He later said he didn’t see what happened next.
The ball landed 10 feet from the flag, made serene progress to the pin then disappeared.
“Did that go in?” he asked his caddie and when he finally discovered it had, he honorably tried to rein in his emotions because Laird and Percy needed to match him to extend the play-off!
As it happens, both did find a hole of sorts. Unfortunately, it was one full of water (it was a lake) and Byrd was the champion.
“It’s find of hard to process, I’m still in shock,” Byrd said afterwards.
It was Byrd’s fourth PGA Tour title and he took advantage of his good fortune.
The win earned him a spot in the following year’s Tournament of Champions – and he won that as well.
He also got to hang out with Justin Timberlake who then sponsored the tournament.
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