Lucas Glover tops Patrick Cantlay to win FedEx St. Jude Championship on first playoff hole

Lucas Glover fended off a strong group of pursuers to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship on a one-hole playoff Sunday.

But barely. Tied with Patrick Cantlay after 72 holes, the 43-year-old Glover drilled an 8-foot par putt. Cantlay, whose tee shot landed in the water, narrowly missed a 20-foot, 3-inch putt for par that would have forced a second playoff hole. Instead, Glover becomes the first 54-hole leader over 40 years old to win a FedEx Cup Playoff event since Tiger Woods in 2018.

Glover (69), a native of Greenville, South Carolina, and a former Clemson star, and Cantlay (64) finished regulation at 15 under-par 265. Rory McIlroy (65) and Tommy Fleetwod (68) were one back.

The win keeps Glover’s scalding streak going and is projected to vault him from No. 49 in the FedEx Cup Playoff standings into the top five. Glover, who won the Wyndham Championship last week, has five top-six finishes in the last six weeks.

With the heat index hovering around 100 degrees late Sunday and the pressure mounting, Glover soaked his hands in coolers full of ice water before teeing off on No. 17 and No. 18. His would-be tournament-winning birdie putt on the 18th came up one foot short. His tap-in for par set up the third straight PGA Tour event in Memphis to go to a playoff.

Glover entered the final round of the tournament at TPC Southwind at 14 under, with 10 golfers within five strokes of his lead. The closest competitor, Taylor Moore, trailed by only by one stroke.

Moore trailed off early carding four bogeys (to just one birdie) on the front nine, finishing with a 71. Cantlay, McIlroy and Fleetwood made hard charges Sunday, which was interrupted by a 94-minute weather delay shortly after noon.

Glover helped Cantlay’s cause by flirting with disaster. He hit into the intermediate rough off the tee on No. 13, then subsequently found the primary rough with his second shot. He rebounded by sinking a 20.5-foot putt to save par. Glover coughed up the lead on No. 14, when he hit into the water off the tee. He saved bogey with a 29-foot, 8-inch putt, but Cantlay’s back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 gave him a temporary advantage.

"It was just keep playing. Keep fighting," Glover said during an interview on CBS following the tournament. "Stay close, get close. And I was fortunate to get in a playoff. I said yesterday the guns would be coming, and they came. I was just the last man standing this week."

By the time Cantlay finished his round, he and Glover were tied. Cantlay spent a few minutes in the clubhouse before heading out to the driving range to await the conclusion of the round. Shortly before 7 p.m., Cantlay's tee shot bounced several times before landing in the water. Glover followed with a 288-yard drive that landed in the middle of the fairway. His approach shot left him with a 22-foot, 2-inch putt.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.