2015 Memorial Tournament results: David Lingmerth wins thrilling playoff over Justin Rose

David Lingmerth spent his Sunday

Not bad for a day’s work as the 212th ranked player in the world.

Lingmerth hit the weekend at the Memorial as the 36-hole leader, built largely through a blistering 7-under round of 65 on Friday. He started the week playing his first four holes in 2-over, but then proceeded to play his next 32 holes in 14-under to rocket up the leaderboard.

Lingmerth, however, came back to the field playing in the anchor tee time on Saturday with Jason Dufner. An even-par 72 on Saturday dropped him three shots off the pace set by Rose, but the 27-year-old Swede showed up Sunday undeterred and got back into the fight on the back nine. He posted three birdies in a five-hole stretch early on the inward nine, getting into the clubhouse at 15-under to wait and see if Rose could match him.

Rose had one of the more eventful final hours you’ll ever see on Tour. Needing a birdie on one of his final two holes, he bombed a drive 373 yards on the 17th to set up a red number and re-take a share of the lead. His final hole in regulation featured a wild drive into a fairway bunker, a shank that beaned a fan directly in head, and a miraculous up-and-down par save to force a playoff.

The first hole of the longest playoff in Memorial history was full of roller coaster swings between the two players. Lingmerth nearly chipped in for birdie to end it right there, but the ball popped out of the cup and rolled off the green and onto the fringe. Neither player looked like he would make par, but Rose stepped up first and ignited the crowd, his adorable kid, and Nicklaus by bombing in this extremely difficult sidewinding putt that appeared to seal it.

With the hole still buzzing from Rose’s putt, the untested Lingmerth went ahead and drained his own challenging breaker to force another extra hole.

Neither player could finish it on his second playoff trip through the 18th. The match moved on to the 10th tee, where Rose sent a drive into jail down the right side. He made a mess of things from tee-to-green while Lingmerth steadily put it in the center of the putting surface in regulation. A two-putt par was enough to end it.

Lingmerth is a talented player, but his career has been spent mostly on the fringes of the PGA Tour. He had a few second-place finishes and had made noise before, including a run at The Players. But he had never won and was the next-to-last player to qualify for the 120-man field this week. Now, the Arkansas product has his first victory at one of the circuit’s most competitive events, a $1,116,000 check (his previous career earnings were just $3,490,336), and solidified status on the Tour.

The Tour now heads to Memphis for the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the final tuneup before the U.S. Open. Here are the final results from Muirfield Village: