Patton Kizzire wins Procore Championship for third PGA Tour title, ends 6-year drought

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[PHOTO: Jed Jacobsohn]

Patton Kizzire earned no points for originality, but his newfound appreciation for embracing the power of positive thinking earned him those all-too-valuable FedEx Cup points and his third career victory on the PGA Tour.

Kizzire, 38, whose most recent victory came at the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii, converted a four-stroke 54-hole lead in the Procore Championship into a five-stroke victory over David Lipsky in Napa, California. A two-under 70 on the North course at Silverado Resort gave Kizzire a 20-under 268 total that enabled him to end a winless drought of 176 starts spanning six years, eight months and one day. He pocketed $US1.08 million – only slightly less than the $US1.161 million he earned all of last season when he finished 128th on the points list, relegating him to conditional status this year.

“It feels so good. I’ve worked really hard and to come out and play like I did and pull away from the field and keep the pedal down and play and play like I can play, it was so much fun,” said Kizzire, who moved to 70th in the FedEx Cup standings. “I’ve underachieved for quite some time. It’s good to be back doing me.”

Kizzire, who began working with a mental coach a month ago, won after weathering a shaky stretch around the turn, putting his new mindset of becoming more organised and “unflappable” to the test. After taking the midway lead, Kizzire said he’d “had a lot of positive vibes and positive thoughts. I was looking forward to bringing it here, continuing it, and growing it.”

Bogeys at holes nine and 11 coupled with Lipsky’s three-footer for birdie at the par-3 11th whittled Kizzire’s lead to just two strokes. But the Alabama pro responded like he’d been there before – even if it had been more than six years. Kizzire got up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-5 12th and then played the 13th expertly, hitting fairway and green and easing in an eight-footer for birdie.

That made his lead five strokes when Lipsky bogeyed the 13th and Kizzire was never threatened again.

“I stayed disciplined,” Kizzire, ranked 257th in the world, said, fighting back emotions. “I stayed extremely disciplined.”

Lipsky, who bogeyed the final hole for a 71, enjoyed his career-best finish after starting the week 163rd on the points list. Defending champion Sahith Theegala, a member of the US Presidents Cup team, ended T-7 at 276 after a closing 72.