LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — They draped a garland of roses around Steven Fisk's neck Sunday evening.
At Hurstbourne Country Club, that seems to be how champions arrive.
For the second straight year, the ISCO Championship looked an awful lot like a Kentucky Derby. The leader turned for home in front. The closers came flying.
A year after William Mouw erased a six-shot deficit with a final-round 61, Fisk tracked down third-round leader Lucas Glover, caught Taylor Pendrith at 16-under par and finally outlasted the Canadian in a three-hole playoff.
The trophy came with roses. It also provided proof.
"I was definitely more nervous in regulation," Fisk admitted afterward. "Once you get in that playoff ... there's not really a whole lot to lose."Â
That's not how most people think about playoffs.
Then again, Steven Fisk has never done much the conventional way.
For years, he avoided hiring a swing coach because he feared the first lesson would be changing the grip he'd trusted since childhood. If he was going to make it on the PGA Tour, he wanted to do it his way.
Sunday, there wasn't much to fix.
Fisk opened the week with a 63. He never shot higher than 68 until a closing 67. He never disappeared from the leaderboard. He simply stayed close enough for the tournament to become available.
Lucas Glover made sure of that.
The 46-year-old former U.S. Open champion began Sunday one shot ahead of Aaron Wise after three days that looked like vintage Glover. He had played 41 consecutive holes without a bogey. He had answered every challenge. He looked exactly like a veteran ready to finish another golf tournament.
Then Sunday posed a different question.
Steven Fisk looks at the ISCO Championship trophy while wearing a garland of roses after winning the tournament in a three-hole playoff at Hurstbourne Country Club.
Five bogeys later, Glover signed for a 1-over-par 71 and slipped into a tie for fifth.
"Too many mistakes," Glover said. "I didn't do anything really well today."Â
Later, he offered perhaps the simplest explanation for why protecting a lead feels different than chasing one.
"It's hard to play with a lead," he said. "It kind of saps your freedom."Â
Fisk never seemed to lose his.
Pendrith posted 16 under with a closing 65 and waited.
Wise, whose remarkable comeback after stepping away from golf in 2023 had become one of the week's best stories, birdied the 15th and 16th holes to briefly reach 15 under before settling for a tie for third with Ben Silverman.Â
Fisk just kept making pars.
Pendrith had a birdie chance to win on the first playoff hole, but missed a 10-foot putt that he still can’t believe didn’t fall. Fisk escaped a bunker to save par. They matched pars on the second extra hole. On the third, Pendrith finally blinked with a bogey, and Fisk rolled home the short par putt that made him a two-time PGA Tour winner.
The playoff may have lasted three holes.
The pursuit had lasted a year.
Ever since winning last fall's Sanderson Farms Championship, Fisk had wanted another opportunity like this one.
"It was a frustrating year trying to back up that first win," he said. "I showed some pretty good signs of some solid golf, but haven't really had that opportunity to win a golf tournament that I've been craving."Â
The chance finally came Sunday.
So did the validation.
"Backing it up and being a two-time winner is maybe even more than I ever dreamed of," Fisk said.Â
He was ready for it.
After struggling over short putts during Saturday's round, Fisk stayed on the practice green for nearly 45 minutes before leaving Hurstbourne, working on the very putts that would decide the championship less than 24 hours later.Â
By the time the playoff arrived, he said, the nerves had already passed.
The hardest part had been getting there.
And when he finally did, Louisville handed him the roses.
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