Standing on the 18th tee on Sunday afternoon, J.T. Poston was three shots down and knew he needed to do something special to catch, or at the very least put the pressure on, Lee Hodges.
His drive found the right rough, leaving a difficult approach to the green guarded by water to the front. Instead of laying up and simply playing for birdie to solidify a solo second-place finish, Poston hit the gas and went for the green.
“I mean, at the end of the day it’s not the way I wanted to end, but I had to try and give it a shot and see if there was some way I could make 3 there at the end and put some pressure on Lee,” said Poston after the round. “It was a shot that was going to be hard to pull off, but we weren’t playing for second place. I had to give it a shot.”
Poston had 220 yards to the pin and needed 215 yards to cover the water. He wasn’t worried about the club not covering, it was getting the ball in the air that was going to be the issue. He liked the lie and went for it.
“It came out great. It had plenty of distance, it just came out low and didn’t cover. We couldn’t see it hit,” said Poston of his approach, which hit a rock and then ricocheted off a floating 3M sign before dropping in the drink.
J.T. Poston needed eagle on the 72nd hole for a chance to win.
His aggressive approach hit a rock and found the water.
A triple bogey cost him $260,000.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 31, 2023
“We’re not coming here to finish second. At the end of the day we were trying to do something special and try and win,” said Poston, who never considered the players tied for third when making his decision to go for the green. “I wouldn’t want to be sleeping tonight wondering ‘what if I had just laid it up instead of trying to go for it.’ No regrets on the decision. Tried to do what we could to win.”
“Unfortunately, made 8 there at the last, but overall it was a good week,” said Poston. “Game’s in a great spot, I’m playing good, so excited about where it’s at going into the rest of the season.”
The 30-year-old currently sits No. 49 on the FedEx Cup standings and is in prime position to make a run to the Tour Championship at East Lake. Over the last month, Poston has finished T-6, T-6, T-41, T-2 and has some wind in his sails as he heads to this week’s Wyndham Championship, where he won for the first time on Tour back in 2019.