There is a winner in the Bluegrass state for the ISCO Championship as Harry Hall outlasted the four other players in the playoff to win his first PGA Tour event.
He, Matt NeSmith, Pierceson Coody, Zac Blair and Rico Hoey all finished at 22-under to go to extra holes.
On the first playoff hole, Blair and Hoey bogeyed and were eliminated. All three advanced and made par to go to the third extra hole.
That is when Hall made magic happen. The Englishman chipped in from off the green to sink a birdie and win.
“Before I chipped that, I was thinking Phil Rowe would love for me to win a PGA TOUR event by chipping it in,” Hall said after his win. “He was my coach in college. Just walking up to that chip I was thinking about him. Yeah, that was very nice.”
Hall recorded a 3-under 69 on Sunday to get into the playoff. NeSmith and Blair both fired off an 8-under 64 to make things interesting.
Coody, who led most of the tournament, shot his worst score of the week, a 2-under 70. However, he kept it together enough to finish runner-up.
This victory also counts as a PGA Tour and DP World Tour one. Hall turned pro in 2019 and earned some DP World Tour exemptions due to his Walker Cup appearance. However, things did not go as initially planned.
“I was scheduled to go to the Hero Indian Open, and COVID happened — It kept me in the U.S. I had conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour, and I haven’t been able to play over there since,” Hall said. “Hopefully this gets me into some of the Signature Events back in the U.K. that I can go and play in front of a home crowd. Yeah, that would be nice.”
This victory might have been an opposite-field tournament, but that does not make it any easier. Hall still had to play against talented players to get the job done.
It is a massive moment for his career as Hall continues to pave his way on the professional circuit. Now, the goals are massive since he has gotten this first win under his belt.
“I would love a green jacket, that’s always been my goal growing up,” he said. “This is one step closer to that, cementing myself on the PGA TOUR for the next couple years.”
“Proving that I can win out here, that I’m solid under pressure and my game’s right where it needs to be. I think no one can ever take this away from me now. Coming from such a small place back home, being a PGA TOUR winner’s really cool.”
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
