Chokin' in Memphis: Robert Garrigus Coughs Up First PGA Tour Win

Robert Garrigus played three solid rounds at TPC Southwind to position himself to pick up his first PGA Tour win at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis.  67-66-66 in hot, sticky conditions will do that on this track.  Coming to the last hole at -2 on his day, Garrigus held a three shot advantage over the field. 

Simply needing to make double bogey or better to win the tournament and a million dollars, Garrigus pulled his tee shot into the enormous water hazard guarding the eighteenth's left hand side.  Dropping behind the water, he then struck a tree with his third, punched out for his fourth to the green.  After a two-putt, he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and slipped into a three-way playoff with Lee Westwood and Robert Karlsson.

Related: No, Robert Garrigus Did Not Mess His Pants in Memphis

An unlucky tee shot on the first playoff hole landed Garrigus behind a tree.  Following another pitch out from behind lumber, Garrigus was in a hole against the Euros.  He made bogey, they both made par.  Garrigus' moment had passed.  He coughed up the win that Lee Westwood would mercifully capture on the fourth hole in what may be one of the all-time greatest playoff debacles in PGA Tour history.

Having been a sojourner of a Tour pro since getting his card for the '06 season, Garrigus' loss today is now his best finish.  He is rewarded with some $500,000 for absolutely giving away his Shawshank Redemption moment.  A win would have changed Garrigus's life.  He would get better tee times, more endorsement opportunities, and a two-year exemption.  While the result is nowhere near Van de Velde or Norman territory, for a small time pro like Garrigus, this was on that level.

Until Sunday, Garrigus had made $3.2 million on the PGA Tour.  His two best finishes before this were third-place ties in Fall Series caliber events.  Today, he was trying to stare down the third ranked player in the world.  Ultimately, he failed not because of his competition beating him but because he beat himself.

On one hand, it's tough not to feel some sympathy for the man.  Zach Johnson, once in a similar position to Garrigus in terms of status and name recognition, tweeted that he was praying for Garrigus and his family.  Almost like it was some kind of natural disaster.  Considering what sister city Nashville went through earlier this year - and Johnson's experience with flooding in Iowa - that remark seems misplaced and trite.

Garrigus gave up a tremendous professional opportunity, but it was self-imposed.  He could have taken a page from Lucas Glover and hit 6-iron off of the 18th tee.  He surely would have hit the green in three and won.  Instead, he lost control and the tournament.  Ultimately, he was rewarded with a half of a million dollars. 

Nantzlessness – adj. – while watching televised golf, a state of great viewing and listening comfort owing to Jim Nantz’s absence from the announcing team; orig. coined by reader Turnover.

That is a commentary on what is wrong with the PGA Tour.  A guy almost does something great and makes a half million dollars.  He chokes on national television and makes enough to pay for a slew of claims against BP in the Gulf.  This is precisely the situation that allows someone like Nathan Green to feel happy about sitting on his couch instead of extending himself to qualify for the US Open.  A good paycheck from an almost good enough performance allows for a very easy and complacent livelihood. 

The better players on the PGA Tour will tell you that they are no longer playing for money.  They have plenty of it.  Guys like Garrigus are not at that stage.  Perhaps raising the stakes on winning would create more enticement to win.  Double the winner's share.  $2 million to the winner with a huge drop off to the other medal stand players might do the trick.  Lowering the number of exempt pros each week might do it, too.  The ideas have serious consequences, but may well further improve the quality of play from top to bottom - especially on the bottom - on Tour.

Keeping the preceding paragraphs in context, the slew of things that will be said of Garrigus in the days to come never would be said if he took the safe route and won.  Heck, the Memphis event might have been further bemoaned because an absolute nobody won the week before the Open.  It could rekindle the conversation about weaker events that suffer due to scheduling.  Instead, the trial of Robert Garrigus gives the tournament a permanent impression.  TPC Southwind grows in lore.  And Robert Garrigus becomes the answer to a trivia question.

Not a bad trade off for a half-million dollars and the heartbreaking lesson that may well propel him to taste victory instead of water.  To understand the drive that disappointment can create, Garrigus need just spend a few minutes with the man that took the title today.  Lee Westwood has transformed himself from a can''t-miss-kid into a case study in a tumultuous fall back into the man that is a favorite for our national title.