The PGA TOUR held it’s first team event in 36 years during the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans – and what a tournament it turned out to be! Cameron Smith and teammate Jonas Blixt grabbed the victory on the fourth playoff hole over Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown during a Monday Finish after they birdied the par-5 18th hole.
Kisner had forced overtime in dramatic fashion with a 35-yard chip-in for eagle on the 72nd hole with darkness creeping in Sunday evening. It was Kisner’s third chip-in of the final round and erased the last of the four-shot lead with which Blixt and Smith had begun the round. The winning team put together 76 straight holes at TPC Louisiana without making a bogey.
The Monday morning playoff began slowly, with the teams combining for four pars apiece on the first three playoff holes. But on their third trip down No. 18 of the morning – with one stop at the ninth, along the way – Smith put a wedge from 59 yards to within a few feet and Kisner and Brown both missed mid-range birdie attempts.
This is Smith’s first career PGA Tour victory at age 23, and it earns him a spot in next week’s Players Championship. For Blixt, it’s career win No. 3 and the first since The Greenbrier Classic in 2013. While the victory does not get either player into the Masters because of the team format, they are both now exempt into the PGA Championship as well as the Tournament of Champions in Maui. Smith and Blixt are now also fully exempt on Tour through the 2018-19 season.
Source: PGA Tour
