Patrick Cantlay is only golfer to successfully defend PGA Tour playoff victory

• Cantlay is the only golfer to successfully defend a playoff victory.
• US golfer overcame a two-stroke deficit on the back nine to win.
• Scottie Scheffler tied for third with Tokyo Olympic winner Xander Schauffele.

Patrick Cantlay is the only golfer to successfully defend a PGA Tour playoff victory. Cantlay overcame a two-stroke deficit on the back nine to beat US compatriot Scott Stallings.

Cantlay had a two-under par 69 to finish 72 holes at Wilmington Country Club in Delaware on 14-under 270.

“I played a lot of great golf this week and I’m happy to come out of here with a win,” Cantlay said.

Stallings dropped his approach nine feet from the cup at 18, but he missed the birdie putt and finished with a par. Cantlay’s tee shot on 17 landed in the fairway. He pitched to six feet and made a clutch birdie putt to win.

At 18, Cantlay hit a bunker shot to 46 feet, missed his birdie putt, and tapped in for par and the win. Cantlay hit many great shots and got some breaks. “At 17, that break was a tremendous opportunity for me to seize.”

Cantlay might repeat as FedEx Cup champion next week in Atlanta. Scottie Scheffler, who tied for third with Tokyo Olympic winner Xander Schauffele on 273, leads the season points chase by two strokes at East Lake next week.

Cantlay will have a staggered lead over the remainder of the 30-player FedEx Cup playoff field.

“I made a lot of clutch 5- and 4-footers today — putter felt really good,” Cantlay said. “I was pretty solid and I’ll carry that into next week.”

Cantlay, 30, earned his eighth career PGA victory and second of the year. Lee Kyoung-hoon tied for sixth with Corey Conners and Adam Scott after shooting 65.

Scott shot 71 and qualified for the Tour Championship, denying Shane Lowry a berth. Lee missed Atlanta last year, which he called “a terrible spot.”

“Lot of pressure this week,” Lee said. “I wanted to make the top 30 but my goal was to never think about my position and play my best.”

Scott, Lee, Stallings, and Aaron Wise qualified for Atlanta this week. J.J. Spaun, Kevin Kisner, Davis Riley, and Kim Joo-hyung were eliminated.

Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa reached the water twice with wedges on the par-5 12th, his worst score in his PGA career. He shot 79 for 44th on 283.

Cantlay, who started the day with a one-stroke lead, took bogey at the eighth and shared the lead with Stallings. Stallings was leading by two when Cantlay missed a 10-foot par putt at the 10th.

Cantlay answered with a birdie at 11, dropping a putt from just inside 14 feet, and made a nervous 6-foot par putt at the difficult 12th, leaving them tied for the lead. Stallings and Cantlay both drove the par-5 14th hole in two to set up short birdie putts.

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