RSM Classic: Duncan beats Webb Simpson in play-off

Leaderboard

Play-off:

-1 (1) Duncan

0 (1) Simpson

-19 Simpson, Duncan

-18 Munoz

-16 Todd

-15 Lee, Norlander, Scheffler

-14 McCarthy, Trahan

Day four report

Tyler Duncan held off Webb Simpson in a play-off to claim his maiden PGA Tour title as Brendon Todd missed out on a hat-trick of titles at The RSM Classic.

Todd was outside the top 1,000 on the Official World Golf Ranking as recently as June, but captured the Bermuda Championship and Mayakoba Golf Classic in recent weeks in a stunning return to form.

He began the final day with a two-shot lead as he sought to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2006 to win three regular PGA Tour titles in a row, but a closing 72 left him fourth on 16 under.

Instead, former US Open champion Simpson and Duncan were left to contest a play-off at Sea Island, after respective rounds of 67 and 65 left them tied on 19 under par.

The pair traded pars on the first trip back down the 18th, but Duncan converted a 12-foot birdie putt to seal the win on the second.

Speaking after his win, Duncan told the PGA Tour website: "I'm just so happy to be out here playing and to come out here and win is just unbelievable.

"I knew it was going to be a tough day out here, it was colder and the wind picked up and I was just trying to do the best that I could and fight til the end - I hit one of the best four-irons I've ever hit on 17 just up the hill."

Colombia's Sebastian Munoz finished third on 18 under after a closing 68.

The win ensures Duncan will play the first two majors of 2020 - the US PGA and the Masters at Augusta.

Day three report

Brendon Todd stands on the brink of a stunning PGA Tour hat-trick having taken the lead after three rounds of the RSM Classic.

A month ago, the American was outside the world's top 500 and more than five years removed from his sole victory to date, but after landing both the Bermuda Championship and the Mayakoba Golf Classic, he has completed a remarkable transformation.

The icing on the cake may well come via victory in his adopted home state of Georgia, where he went to college and now lives, as he takes a two-shot advantage into the final round after a brilliant 62 on Saturday.

Webb Simpson's round of 63, capped with a birdie at the final hole, puts him alongside Sebastian Munoz in second and makes for a more fearsome chasing pack than Todd has faced of late.

Still, with his last 12 rounds in the sixties and a trophy collection which is outgrowing his cabinet, Todd is entitled to approach the challenge with confidence - more so having missed just one of 42 fairways so far at Sea Island.

Round three began with birdies from 19 and 11 feet at the first two holes, virtual tap-ins at holes four and five, a 28-foot bonus at the seventh and one from 17 feet at the ninth.

Making the turn in just 29 strokes, Todd added another birdie at the 11th, this time after an approach to two feet, and while the conditions toughened thereafter he was sure to pop in one more at the par-three 17th, where most were struggling for par.

After safely navigating the difficult 18th hole, Todd holds a healthy lead - though Simpson's birdie from 27 feet there may prove significant.

A regular contender here, Simpson has been in superb form since summer, leagues ahead of anything Todd's recent victims have achieved, and he'll get the chance to eye-ball a similar-looking rival in that final group.

Munoz, a PGA Tour winner this season, also rates a live threat, while our followers have fourth-placed D.J. Trahan on-side at 175/1. He shared the lead with Todd during the middle of the round, but two late bogeys mean backers are looking over their shoulder rather than up ahead, to a leader doing things which ought not to be possible.

Day two report

A "slam-dunk" eagle helped Tyler Duncan storm into the lead at the halfway stage of the RSM Classic.

The American's nine-under par 61 featured a two at the par-four eighth at Sea Island's Seaside course when his 106-yard approach hit the flag and rattled straight into the cup.

He had already made four birdies, and another three on the back nine saw him into a two-shot lead heading into the weekend.

Webb Simpson could not follow up his opening 65 and dropped down to a tie for 11th after he could only manage an inconsistent 68, featuring six birdies and four bogeys.

There was a three-way tie for second place behind Duncan, with Colombian Sebastian Munoz, Rhein Gibson of Australia and local favourite DJ Trahan all on 12 under.

Trahan matched Duncan's nine-under-par score for the day with a 63 on the par-72 Plantation course, while Munoz also shot 63 but on the par-70 Seaside course.

Day one report

Webb Simpson, the world number 12 and highest-ranked player in the PGA Tour event, holed eight birdies as he played the Plantation Course at the Sea Island Resort in Georgia first.

Fellow American Cameron Tringale and Korea's Lee Kyoung-hoon, who played their first rounds over the Seaside Course, and Australian Rhein Gibson (Plantation) were in a three-way tie on six under.

Germany's Alex Cejka (Plantation) was the highest-placed European, in a group of nine on five under, after a 67.

Former world number one Luke Donald was in a tie for 43rd on two under along with Scotland's Martin Laird after both played Plantation.

The shot of the day was played by American Johnson Wagner, who holed a three wood for an albatross on the par-five 15th at Seaside. It was his third career albatross and ensured he finished the day three under.