Hunting partners from home probably ought to win a shootout with a bang, so Patton Kizzire and Brian Harman delivered one to win the QBE Shootout today at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.
The format for the final round of this event hosted by Greg Norman was fourball (or best ball) and at the par-5 17th hole, Harman and Kizzire, one stroke off the lead, both hit iron shots close, giving them short looks at eagle.
Kizzire [above] holed his putt to put his team one ahead of Graeme McDowell and Emiliano Grillo. The latter team was unable to make birdie at the 18th, giving Kizzire and Harman the victory.
“We knew we needed at least birdie and eagle was a bonus,” Kizzire said. “He hit a great iron shot in there close and freed me up, and I hit a good one, too. We both had looks at it. I putted first and made it. That was huge.”
The team, which shared the 36-hole lead, closed with an 11-under par 61 that included a back nine of seven-under par 29.
“We had a little bit of a rough patch there, kind of seven, eight, nine,” Harman said, “but we both sort of said, we’ve got to weather the storm and keep it going and I was really proud we hung in there, and we caught fire on the back nine. It was fun.”
Kizzire, 32, lives in Sea Island, Georgia, while Harman [above], 31, lives in St Simons Island, Georgia, about eight kilometres away. The two have known each other since they were 12 and often hunt and fish together, as well as play a lot of golf together at home.
“Patton tells everyone that I’ve been his mentor forever, so, you know, just to see him grow up and do all these great things, it’s been so fun,” Harman said. “To have a chance to play with Patton, it’s been a blast.”
Each has won twice on the US PGA Tour, though Kizzire’s two victories have come in the past 13 months, while Harman’s last win was in May 2017.
Midway through the back nine in the final round, they were part of a four-way tie that also included the teams of Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III (who had finished), McDowell and Grillo and Luke List and Charles Howell III.
McDowell finished second for the second straight year. Last year, his partner was Shane Lowry, and they tied for the runner-up spot.
The team of Lexi Thompson and Tony Finau, who finished fourth last year, dropped to seventh in the 12-team field.
