‘It’s never easy’: Poston holds on to win Shriners Children’s Open — PHOTOS
When J.T. Poston missed a short par putt on the 17th hole Sunday during the final round of the Shriners Children’s Open, a murmur of anticipation washed through the gallery at TPC Summerlin.
The door was open for Doug Ghim, and the Las Vegas resident nearly took advantage on his home course.
Ghim scared the hole with his approach shot on the par-4 finishing hole and birdied to get within one shot of the lead. But Poston made par to finish off a round of 4-under 67 and hold on for his third career PGA Tour victory.
Poston, who also owned the lead after the third round was completed Sunday morning, finished at 22-under 262.
“It’s never easy winning out here on tour, and today was no different,” Poston said. “This golf course, you can make some mistakes pretty quick, and you can make a lot of birdies and eagles pretty quick. And so, I just felt like it was never going to be over until that last hole.”
Ghim fired a bogey-free 65 that included an eagle on No. 9 to move to 19 under, one shot behind Poston. That set up a back-nine duel between the leaders in the final group.
On No. 11, Ghim had a chance to tie but left his birdie putt short. Poston then made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 and seemingly was in control after getting up and down for birdie from behind the green on No. 15 to go up by four shots.
But Poston couldn’t convert a short birdie putt on the par-5 16th. He then pulled his 4-footer for par on No. 17, cutting his lead to two shots. It was his first bogey since the middle of the wind-swept second round, a run of 41 holes.
“Our game plan was to make (par) on 18 and don’t even think about what-ifs and what he could do,” Poston said. “For me, I just was trying to focus on four good shots there on 18.”
Ghim had 151 yards from the 18th fairway and carved a 9-iron that landed just past the hole and came to rest 6 feet away. He rolled in the birdie putt to put the heat on Poston.
“At the end of the day, if you told me on Monday that I’d have a shot to put pressure on J.T. on a Sunday on the 72nd hole, I would have taken it,” Ghim said.
Poston was left with 4 feet to clean up for par and pumped his fist while shouting, “Yes!” after the putt dropped. His last win came in 2022 at the John Deere Classic.
Poston, who led the field in strokes gained during the week, finished tied for third at the Shriners Open last year.
“It’s just a golf course that I really like, and it’s nice to finally get a win here,” Poston said. “I felt like it was one that I could certainly win on.”
Ghim played his final 37 holes without a bogey to earn his best finish in 141 starts on the PGA Tour. His previous best was in 2021 when he tied for fifth at the American Express.
The runner-up finish also moved Ghim up to No. 70 in the FedEx Cup standings, well inside the top 125 who earn their tour card for the 2025 season.
“I did everything that I could,” Ghim said. “At the end of the day, you’re trying to beat the leader in the final round, and I did that. It just came up one short. I’m proud of the effort.”
Rico Hoey and Matti Schmid shot matching 66s to finish in a tie for third at 19 under.
Michael Kim tied his career-low on the PGA Tour and posted the round of the day with a 62. He tied for fifth at 18 under with K.H. Lee and Davis Thompson and moved up to No. 112 in the FedEx Cup standings.
“It’s not a huge monkey off my back but a decent-sized one,” Kim said. “I knew these few events were going to be huge for keeping my card for next year. To be able to pull off a round like I did today is a huge boost of confidence for the upcoming tournaments.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.