Merritt’s 34-footer just one of many highlights
GAINESVILLE, Va. — He used to golf for Winona State University. Now, in the PGA, Troy Merritt got his first Tour victory Sunday.
The 29-year-old Spring Lake Park, Minn., native, had a weekend full of highlights, capped off by this 34-foot, walk-off-like putt at the Quicken Loans National. After the putt, he sort of just shrugged his shoulders as he looked to the crowd, as if he had done this 100s of times on the Tour.
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Merritt, who spent two years at WSU, before heading to Boise State, shot a course-record 61 on Saturday and a 67 on Sunday. He finished with an 18-under 266 at the Robert Jones Golf Club, which was also an event record.
“It was really nice coming down that final fairway with a two-shot lead,” said Merritt, who had missed his last five cuts heading into the event. “Not feeling very much stress, just trying to make as good of a golf swing as I could and, as you saw, it was nice to have only one putt.”
As if a course record, an event record and a walk-off 34-footer for his first career PGA Tour win weren’t enough, Merritt also came three feet from a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 16 in what may be the most excited a golf announcer has gotten.
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In his collegiate career, Merritt, who came into the weekend’s event ranked 180th in the world, won 21 tournaments while at Winona State and Boise State, including seven during his senior year. He was the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference champion for WSU in 2005.
Sunday was Merritt’s first career victory on the PGA Tour in 96 starts.
“It’s amazing how you can dream of winning a golf tournament your entire life and you’ve got it scripted and when it happens, you’re not thinking,” he said. “You don’t remember what your name is. You’re just reacting. That’s all it was.”
Rickie Fowler, who took second with 15 under, waited and gave Merritt a hug after his final putt dropped.
“He went out there and earned it today,” Fowler said. “He played some great golf. … The score that he put up being in the lead and what he did yesterday, to back it up with a solid round of golf — it’s what you’ve got to do to win.”
Here’s the highlight reel on Merritt from the weekend.
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