Golf

2024 PGA Tour: Shriners Children’s Open Win Adds Perspective to New Dad JT Poston’s Outlook

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Oct 28, 2024 / 7439 Views

Evan Walker

JT Poston has won the Shriners Children’s Open, making him the latest winner in the 2024 PGA Tour.

When the heat is on, the margin between pulling it off and losing it is wafer thin, and JT Poston’s fortunes swung like a pendulum towards close of the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open. The missed putts on Holes 16 and 17 of TPC Summerlin for birdie and par could have easily worked in a way for Poston to doubt himself, getting him off the saddle.

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There was precedence as well for the two-time PGA Tour winner. In April, he had held the early lead at the RBC Heritage but could not complete the task. He finished T5 to equal his best finish in 2024 before this week.

JD Poston wins 2024 Shriners Children’s Open

Torn between the past and present, Poston had to make a choice, and quick, as he lined up his final putt of the tournament on the 18th green. He chose the route that defines champions.

Completing the third round early on Sunday, October 20, as the 54-hole leader, and the slew of birdies in the buildup towards the climax, Poston had enough fodder for positive reflection.

With Doug Ghim hot on his heels, Poston was under the pump, and his 45-foot birdie putt was easily the most critical of his career of late. The 31-year-old got it down to 4-feet and tapped it in calmly for his career’s third win in his 216th start on Tour.

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Poston’s thoughts as he went about sealing the one-shot win over fellow American Ghim may seem simple. In truth, they provided insight into what goes on in the mind of a professional Golfer every time they tee off in a tournament week.

“I told myself, this is what you dream of. You got a putt to win on the PGA Tour. Just try and forget about the last two (Holes 16 and 17). Didn’t make good strokes on either of them. I told myself, I’ve made a million of these and just do one more (on the 18th),” said Poston, upon ending his trophy draught since winning the 2022 John Deere Classic.

From the 2019 Wyndham Championship, when he first won as a youngster raring to conquer all that awaited him on the pristine greens, to the latest triumph on Sunday, Poston’s approach has matured. Today, his approach is in sync with a man striking a balance between playing good golf and raising a newborn daughter.

Shift in outlook

A lot more appreciative of what comes his way, Poston is in a position to put his three trophies into perspective; likewise with his misses. He has had to work hard for all his wins, but after losing the playoff at the 2021 Barbasol Championship, this one tastes particularly sweet.

shriners children's open — JT Poston poses with patients of Shriners Children’s Hospital after winning the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open. (Image: PGA Tour/Instagram)

To go with the USD 1.26 million top cheque, 500 FedExCup Fall Points and the assurance of teeing off at the 2025 Masters, Poston now makes a triumphant return into the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking. But as a man tempered by time and life, Poston believes that the privilege of bringing up his daughter Scottie, is his greatest gift.

Poston attributes his shift in priorities from the golf course to home, and spending quality time as key factors in garnering his first win after becoming a father.

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“The perspective is key in performing out here. At times I was definitely guilty of taking it a little too seriously maybe, or being a little too hard on myself. Since Scottie was born, I feel like that’s been a little bit of a 180, just realizing that golf is not the most important thing. It’s honestly far from it. That has given me a little bit more freedom on the golf course, knowing regardless of how I play, I get to go home and grab her, hug her, and be with her. So, that’s a huge win in my book,” said the champion.

Badge on the chest

Superstitions and sport often go hand in hand, and Doug Ghim is one to believe in them. He always keeps his golf ball in the left pocket and tees in the right, and after the near miss on Sunday, the Korean-American believes that his poor record in final rounds will sit like a “badge on the chest” till it is set right.

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There are learnings to be soaked in as well, and that is the 28-year-old’s biggest consolation from his PGA Tour career’s biggest week since he first joined in 2020.

“I haven’t had the best History so far in final rounds, so the next time I get in position I’ll have that in my memory bank of knowing I’ve done it before. You’re trying to beat the leader in the final round and I did that. Just came up one short, so proud of the effort,” said Ghim after commencing the final round three shots adrift of the leader.

Embracing discomfort

Going bogey-free for 37 holes to post his best finish in 141 starts, Ghim moves from No. 93 to 70 in the FedExCup Fall Standings, and that is an indication that he is getting used to performing in a state of discomfort.

“At the end of the day, you learn from all these times, and at the end of the day it was just to try to really enjoy being uncomfortable as long as possible. It’s really, really hard to do that but I did a better job of just staying within that discomfort the whole day instead of trying to run away from it,” said Ghim.

Men of steel

Another one to punch against the odds this week was Gary Woodland with his best finish of the season, in T9.

A four-time winner on Tour, including a Major title at the 2019 US Open, Woodland is thankful to be teeing off every week. Last year, a brain tumour threatened his career, among other things he cared deeply for.

Woodland is familiar with working up a lead and the endeavour towards converting it into a win, but he found himself in unfamiliar waters against the challenges of the condition. He had his surgery in September 2023, and the road since has not been easy.

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Seeing renowned swing coach Randy Smith has been a way of getting back his feel for the sport, and after months of trying, Woodland finally found success.

With a share of the clubhouse lead at one point, Woodland finished Round Three with a 65 and four shots off Poston. Finishing Sunday with a 69 meant he shot under-par on all four days.

“I am starting to drive it better, iron play, controlling the golf ball like I haven’t in a long time, which is nice. Then putts start going in, start putting some good scores up,” Woodland said in wire reports.

Woodland is not alone in his struggles.

At 21, Ian Gilligan posesses more maturity than befits his years. At 15, while promising golfers his age prepare to take their careers to the next level, Gilligan paused to ready himself for a hard battle outside the ropes of the golf course.

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Diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, Gilligan’s specialised line of treatment meant he had to stay out of the Game for seven months, after which he was declared disease free. The recovery was fast, but those months of in and out of chemotherapy sessions armed him with perspective that helped the amateur Golfer in his second PGA Tour start on a sponsor’s invite.

“It’s easy to take stuff for granted. Having the reminder of what I went through, and knowing that people are going through even worse stuff, definitely changed my perspective,” Gilligan said on the PGA Tour.

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After fighting to make cut, Gilligan, who is a University of Florida senior, posted rounds of 66 and 65 and played his final 42 holes without a bogey. As the third amateur to make cut in the tournament’s history, Gilligan finished T16. It was a heady moment, but he chose to look at the bigger picture.

“It’s golf at the end of the day. It’s not like I’m trying to fight a life-or-death battle. That’s a helpful reminder out on the course,” he said.

(Main and featured image: David Becker/Getty Images)