Daniel Berger was almost an afterthought because all of the big names on the leaderboard, but he was the last man standing in the Charles Schwab Challenge.
The 27-year-old Berger sank an 11-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation and then beat Collin Morikawa with a par on the first playoff hole at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
The first PGA Tour event since the circuit was shut down because of the Coronavirus pandemic in March was played without spectators on the course because of social distancing guidelines.
“It’s great to be standing here considering what I went through the last year and a half,” said Berger, who claimed his third PGA Tour victory and first since 2017 after battling back from a left wrist injury that threatened his career. “It’s a real range of emotions.
“I grinded so hard the last month to be in this position and it’s great to see all the work pay off. I came back stronger than ever. I played as high a level of golf as possible for three days and knew if I could do it again I would have a chance to win.
“This is the greatest feeling in the world.”
Berger, whose victories in the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2016 and 2017 also came in the second week of June, closed with a bogey-free, 4-under-par 66 to finish 72 holes even with Morikawa at 15-under 265
Morikawa, from La Canada Flintridge and Cal, closed with a third straight 67 but missed a seven-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation and then lipped out a four-footer for par that would have sent the playoff to a second hole.
“I’m just thinking about that last putt; my mind can’t go much further than that last hole,” said Morikawa, who won the Barracuda Championship last July in his eighth start on the PGA Tour after leaving Cal. “I also had a birdie putt on 18 to win the tournament that didn’t go in.
“This is going to sting for a little bit, but I’ll just go on to next week. I’ll look back on this week and see a lot of positives. I played really well and I’ll probably learn more from this than you might think.”
Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, who held the 54-hole lead, was still tied for the lead before suffering a similar lip-out to Morikawa’s on the 17th hole and shot 69 to finish one-stroke back in a tie for third with Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, who also bogeyed the next-to-last hole.
Justin Rose of England, the 2018 Colonial champion, shot 66 and also was in the tie for third with Jason Kokrak, who posted the low round of the day at 64.
All four of the third place finishers missed putts on the final hole that could have gotten them into the playoff.
Seventh-ranked Patrick Reed birdied three straight holes down the stretch for a bogey-free 67 to wind up two shots back in a tie for seventh with Bubba Watson, who birdied the last two holes for a 67 that included a 12-foot eagle putt on the first hole.
Gary Woodland carded a 70 and was one more back in solo ninth, while fourth-ranked Justin Thomas could manage only a 71 and was four down in a tie for 10th with 2016 Colonial winner Jordan Spieth (71), J.T. Poston (68) and FedEx Cup points leader Sungjae Im (67) of South Korea.
Harold Varner III, who held at least a share of the lead after each of the first two rounds, closed with a 72 to tie for 19th, while top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland stumbled to a 74 and wound up in a tie for 32nd that included third-ranked Brooks Koepka, who came in at 69.
McIlroy saw his streak of six top-five finishes come to an end.
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