It was perhaps the epic battle of the season Sunday at The Travelers when veteran Harris English and upstart Kramer Hickok locked horns in what would become one of the second-longest playoffs in the history of the PGA Tour.
The Travelers final round was action packed all day as contenders stepped up then faded away until English and Hickok ended regulation play as the last men standing.
Both made clutch putts on the 72nd hole to take the action at TPC River Highlands into an extended, two-hour-plus overtime.
Harris came from back in the pack with a closing 65 that featured a 28-footer for birdie at the 18th that took him to 13-under and knocked Marc Leishman out of the lead as Leishman finished early in the day with a 64 that put him in the clubhouse at 12-under.
Out on the course, three-time winner Bubba Watson was looking like he’d make it four at The Travelers but Bubba got a bad case of the blocks with his irons and experienced a complete meltdown that saw him play the final five holes in six-over par and a 41 on the back nine. He went from potential winner to a tie for 19th.
But the spotlight belonged to Harris and Kramer with Kramer playing the part of the huge under-dog as he has been struggling just to keep his Tour card.
With English on the range staying loose, Kramer lined up a nine-footer for birdie at the 18th and holed it for a closing 67, bringing a huge roar from the crowd.
The playoff was an epic one — it was a back-and-forth, ebb-and-flow as both players made great par saves and missed opportunities over the first seven playoff holes.
English had a great chance to end it on the fourth playoff hole when he stuck his approach from a greenside bunker on the 18th to six feet. Hickok was 50 feet away and ran his first putt 14 feet past the hole, as it looked like he’d make bogey. But he holed the putt for par and English missed the short birdie attempt.
On the fifth playoff hole, they were on the 17th where Hickok hit a nine-iron approach to 12 feet and missed his birdie to win it.
As darkness began to descend on the surrounding, it came to an end on the eighth playoff hole when English holed a 16-footer for birdie and the win — ending a playoff that tied for second-longest in Tour history. Long playoff was 11 holes in 1949 at the Motor City Open and a tie was declared between Cary Middlecoff and Loyd Mangrum.
But there was no tie in this one and Harris walked off weary but with his fourth Tour win in hand.
“This is awesome,” he said. “I talked to Kramer — what a competitor! What an experience. The fans were awesome — we put on a good show. I knew I had to stay in it. I was tired. My back was getting sore a little bit,” English said. “But I knew anything could happen. You’ve just got to grind out there. It was a good fight, and came down to somebody making birdie finally.”
The crowds were pulling for the under-dog, shouting “Kra-mer, Kra-mer, Kra-mer” during the playoff.
“I mean, it was just see ball, hit ball for me,” Hickok said. “I get in trouble when I let all the exterior distractions and intangibles get in the way, so I was just remembering all those good shots I hit. Going back on the range this morning I was hitting that exact same shot, and I had a little adrenaline pumping so I knew it was going to be the perfect club, so it was just full commitment and let it go. I had a couple good chances,” Hickok added. “I did everything I could have done.”
As for English, he’s hoping his win got the attention of Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.
“This is a validation win,” said English, who is now eighth in the Ryder Cup standings. “It took me seven years to win this year in Maui, and I think this is a validation of where my game is right now. The Ryder Cup is where I want to play. I love Steve Stricker. I know he’s the captain this year. That’s what I miss about playing golf at University of Georgia, I miss that team atmosphere, and that’s the pinnacle of our sport is to represent your country and to play in probably one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
“I still need to keep playing well and keep showing Strick that I deserve to be on the team.”
