Westerville, Ohio – Andrew Martin has gotten used to long days this time of year. When the calendar turns to May every year and the best Tour players in the world start making their way to Muirfield Village Golf Club, everyone who works at Jack’s Place knows that it’s their time to put in the hours. So when Martin finished his round in the lead at Monday’s Legacy Championship around 1:15 PM, he knew he’d be in for a wait. Nearly five hours later, he made sure the wait was worth it.
Martin defeated Bob Sowards in a playoff on 9th hole of the Rookery Nine at Medallion, hitting an outrageous 3-wood to four feet before making the putt for eagle. Sowards didn’t make it easy on him. The busiest man in Southern Ohio golf went bogey-free Monday to match Martin’s round of 67 and force the playoff.
The playoff – and the end of the tournament itself – took some time. Rain delayed the final few groups for more than two hours on Monday. When the final few groups did get a window to finish, they found themselves on a drenched, yet ultimately playable, golf course. And that change in conditions made a difference in the playoff.
Both Martin and Sowards hit good drives on the par 5, with Martin’s drive finding the right side of the fairway and a clear view of the green. He made the most of it, hitting the shot of the day and one of the shots of the 2025 SOPGA tournament season. His high and direct fairway wood looked fantastic from the second it left the club face, pitching on the now-softer putting service and rolling out a few feet from the hole. The same shot pre-rain delay would have ended up on a back shelf 30 or more feet from the flagstick. It was an incredible shot under normal circumstances but the fact that it happened after sitting around Medallion Club for the better part of a day made it even more exceptional.
Sowards, fresh off two more major championship appearances, nearly pulled off a miracle that would have added to his already legendary list of on-course accomplishments. Sowards’ approach into the green was a flat, penetrating ball flight more akin to what we see at the Memorial every year. It landed just short of the green, popped onto the putting surface and nearly went in before rolling out to about 20 feet. It could not have gotten any closer to the flagstick without hitting it, truly a burned edge away from a walk-off albatross and another Sowards story that would have rippled through the golf world.
Sowards’ eagle putt went begging, giving Martin the window to calmly knock in his winning four footer and claim the title.
Now, perhaps, a day off or two is in his future.
