St. Jude Championship 2022: Will Zalatoris wins first PGA Tour event

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Will Zalatoris had the most money and the best world ranking of anyone without a PGA Tour victory. He changed that Sunday by winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship without making birdie in a three-hole playoff.

Heartache in two previous playoff losses this year — one in a major — turned into relief for Zalatoris after a wild finish in the TPC Southwind. It ended when he took a penalty drop from the rocks that frame the par-3 11th green and holed a 7-foot bogey putt to beat Sepp Straka.

Zalatoris moves into the top 10 in the world for the first time and takes the No. 1 spot in the FedEx Cup, assuring him a reasonable shot at the $18 million prize in two weeks.

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Will Zalatoris celebrates after defeating Sepp Straka, of Austria, in a playoff in the final round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

He was clutch even if he was scrambling. It stated with a 10-foot par save on the 18th in regulation for a 4-under 66 to post at 15-under 265.

Straka, already a winner this year in the Honda Classic, narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt for the win on the 18th for a 67.

Both made par on the 18th on the first extra hole. Then, as Straka said after the loss, "It can get a little crazy" on a course like, and a closing hole like No. 18.

Zalatoris went right off the tee, off the cart path and a few feet from a boundary fence, leaving him no choice but to chip out. Straka barely cleared the water on the left, but was just inside the hazard line. He chose to take a penalty drop and hit into 7 feet. Zalatoris hit his third to just