Ryan Gerard didn’t win the Tour Championship on Sunday at East Lake Golf Club. But he made a putt worth more than $1 million on the final hole.
Scottie Scheffler got off to a fast start and took control on the back nine on his way to 66 and a three-stroke victory at 16-under-par 264.
Gerald gained some consolation when his 4-foot putt at the par-5 18th hole slipped just inside the left edge of the cup and dropped for par, a closing 72, a third-place finish by himself at 268 and a check for $3.075 million. Playing partner Victor Hovland made a 5-footer for par a few moments earlier to beat Gerald by one stroke for second place and $5 million.
If Gerard’s final putt had missed, the former UNC star, who double-bogeyed the first hole Sunday, would have created an eight-way tie for third, which would have paid each player in the tie about $1.95 million. Instead, the seven who tied for fourth each received about $1.695 million.
Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, won the $10-million first prize for winning the tournament. Gaining momentum with a tee shot to within a few inches of the hole at the par-3 second hole, Scheffler shot the day’s low round to come from three shots behind Hovland and a two-shot deficit to Gerard entering the day.
One of the two other Raleigh-area natives in the field had a strong round. Akshay Bhatia shot 68 to tie for 18th at 273. Alex Smalley, who now lives in Jamestown, shot 72 to place 27th at 279.
