American Daniel Berger has won the first PGA Tour event following the coronavirus shutdown after claiming the Charles Schwab Challenge title at Fort Worth.
The Tour had been on hold since the Players’ Championship was abandoned after one round in March, but returned behind closed doors in Texas this week.
Berger finished level with countryman Collin Morikawa on fifteen-under-par, but claimed victory in a sudden death playoff as Morikawa’s three-foot par putt lipped out.
Englishman Justin Rose finished a shot back in a tie for third with US trio Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Jason Korak, Schauffele had led overnight and missed a two-foot par putt on the 17th that would have seen him enter the playoff.
Rory McIlroy began the final round three shots off the lead but endured a nightmare start, dropping six shots in his opening nine holes before recovering to shoot four-over-par and end the week six-under.
The Tour will continue at the rescheduled RBC Heritage in South Carolina this week. The Open Championship was cancelled because of the pandemic but all three US majors are still scheduled to go ahead later in the year, including the Masters, which has been pushed back to November.
