Robert Streb. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
Robert Streb nearly holed his second shot on the way to a tournament-winning birdie at the second playoff hole on Sunday, claiming the PGA Tour’s RSM Classic ahead of Kevin Kisner.
Streb, 33, notched his second PGA Tour title on the same Seaside course at Sea Island, Georgia, where he claimed his first in 2014.
He had started the day with a three-shot lead over two-time major winner Zach Johnson and Bronson Burgoon, but was one behind the clubhouse lead of Kisner – who climbed the leaderboard with a seven-under 63 – before a birdie at 17 pulled him level.
Streb couldn’t get a 14-foot birdie try to drop at the 72nd hole, his two-under 68 putting him level with Kisner on 19-under 263.
Streb was in a fairway bunker at the first playoff hole, the 18th, but managed to match Kisner’s par.
He was just left of the fairway when they returned to 18 again, while Kisner was in a tough lie in the right rough.
Streb’s second shot from the fairway checked up on the front of the green the rolled straight toward the hole, barely missing the edge of the cup to leave him a tap-in for birdie.
Kisner’s shot out of the rough bounced off the green. His chip rolled well past, and while he made the comeback for par it was too late, Streb stepping up to hole out his final putt from inches away.
“It’s nice to get another one knocked off,” Streb said of the win. “Obviously Kiz played a great round today and I just snuck one in there on 17.
“Felt pretty fortunate to get in the playoff the way things were kind of running there at the end, so really nice to get another one.”
As low scores abounded, Streb was finding birdies hard to come by.
He drained an eight-footer for birdie at the seventh and rolled in a 21-footer for birdie at nine.
But he bogeyed 13 to drop into a tie for the lead with Kisner, who had six birdies in his first 13 holes and then produced a great par save from off the green at 14 and a birdie at 15 to seize the lead.
“I didn’t know what Kiz was doing, but I knew he was playing really well along with some other guys,” Streb said.
“Seventeen I felt like had to go in. I didn’t know if he was going to get to 20 (under) or not and I felt like it had to go in if I wanted a chance.”
Kisner, who won the first of his three PGA Tour titles at Sea Island in 2015, remains in search of his first trophy since the 2019 WGC Match Play Championship.
Streb and Kisner finished 72 holes one stroke in front of Cameron Tringale, whose eight birdies included five in a row from the fifth through the ninth in an eight-under par 62.
Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and American Andrew Landry shared fourth on 265, Wiesberger posting a 63 and Landry a 64.
Harris English also carded a 62 to head a group on 266 that also included Colombian Camilo Villegas, Kyle Stanley and Johnson, whose challenge faded with a triple-bogey at the par-five seventh.
Leading final-round scores on Sunday in the PGA Tour RSM Classic
on the par-70 Seaside and par-72 Plantation courses at Sea Island,
Georgia (x-won at 2nd playoff hole; USA unless noted):
263 – x-Robert Streb 65-63-67-68, Kevin Kisner 68-66-66-63
264 – Cameron Tringale 67-68-67-62
265 – Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 66-68-68-63, Andrew Landry 68-68-65-64
266 – Harris English 66-66-72-62, Camilo Villegas (COL) 64-66-70-66, Kyle Stanley 67-65-68-66, Zach Johnson 66-67-65-68
267 – Corey Conners (CAN) 67-70-66-64, Patton Kizzire 65-66-70-66
268 – Jason Day (AUS) 69-67-67-65, John Huh 69-68-66-65, Rory Sabbatini (SVK) 65-72-66-65
269 – Keegan Bradley 67-68-67-67, Matthew NeSmith 72-63-66-68, Bronson Burgoon 68-63-67-71
