Merritt seals breakthru victory with closing 67

GAINESVILLE – Troy Merritt walked to the final tee with a three-shot lead and slapped hands with fans on both sides of the ropes, knowing he had all but wrapped up his first PGA Tour title and wanting to show his appreciation for the fans cheering him on.

Not a bad turnaround for a player who had missed five cuts in a row coming into the Quicken Loans National.

Merritt shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday and finished his first career victory in 96 starts with a flourish, rolling in a 34-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole. After the putt fell, the 29-year-old former Boise State player raised his hands, looked toward the crowd and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s amazing how you can dream of winning a golf tournament your entire life and you’ve got it scripted and when it happens, you’re not thinking,” he said. “You don’t remember what your name is. You’re just reacting. That’s all it was.”

The victory came a day after Merritt soared to the lead with a tournament-record 61 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, and his closing 67 matched the best of the day on another sweltering afternoon. He finished at 18-under 266, also an event record, and became the 10th first-time winner on the PGA Tour this season.

“It was really nice coming down that final fairway with a two-shot lead,” he said. “Not feeling very much stress, just trying to make as good of a golf swing as I could and, as you saw, it was nice to have only one putt.”

Rickie Fowler, who started the day one shot off the lead, also made a birdie on the final hole to claim second place at 15 under, and David Lingmerth was third, but both had up-and-down rounds. Fowler shot a 69 that featured seven birdies and five bogeys, and Lingmerth’s 69 included five birdies and three bogeys.

Fowler waited and gave Merritt a hug after his final putt dropped.

“He went out there and earned it today,” Fowler said.