Brice Garnett sank a birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to defeat Erik Barnes and win the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
It marks the 40-year-old’s second win on the PGA Tour, and his first since the 2018 Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship.
“I told somebody at home last week I wouldn’t still be playing if I didn’t believe that I could do this,” Garnett told the Golf Channel broadcast. “I just came with such a thankful heart this week and was so excited for the opportunity to compete out here again.”
Garnett shot a bogey-free 69 in his final round at Grand Reserve Golf Club to finish at 19-under 269, while Barnes joined him there with a 68. They finished one shot ahead of Victor Perez of France (65 Sunday), Hayden Springer (68) and Jimmy Stanger (70).
Garnett and Barnes replayed the 630-yard, par-5 18th hole four times before a winner could be crowned.
After both players parred the hole the first time through, Barnes missed the green far right on his second shot on the second go-round. But he landed a tough pitch shot onto the green and made a mid-range putt back up the hill for birdie, which Garnett matched from the same area.
They both parred the hole again before Garnett rolled in his birdie try on the fourth time through. Barnes, putting from the back fringe but closer to the hole than Garnett, watched his putt skid past the cup.
The win not only guarantees Garnett’s PGA Tour card for three more years, but also gets him into The Players Championship next week and the PGA Championship in May.
“It’s huge,” Garnett said. “Three more years on this tour, some events that I get in, the opportunities to get into bigger events. It was really a lot of unknowns this year and I just wanted to start with a stress-free beginning to the year.”
Ben Kohles, who led after 54 holes, shot a final-round 73 to fade to a T6 finish with Joe Highsmith (70) and Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart (66) at 17 under.
Amateur Jackson Van Paris fired the round of the day — an 8-under 64 with an eagle and six birdies — to finish in a tie for 10th at 15 under.
–Field Level Media