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Daniel Berger dreamed of moments like this, a putt on the final hole with everything riding on it, and he pulled it off to perfection on Sunday.
What Berger never imagined is how quiet it would be. No cheers when his 10-foot birdie on the final hole at Colonial gave him a share of the lead.
No groans when Collin Morikawa missed a six-foot birdie putt for the win.
And more silence on the first play-off hole that Berger won with a par.
"It was a little different for sure, but in the end, I was holding the trophy," Berger said.
"And that's all that matters to me."
The PGA Tour made a healthy and muted return from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown at the Charles Schwab Challenge, except for Morikawa and Xander Schauffele having reason to feel sick to their stomachs.
One hole after a chance to win in regulation, Morikawa hit a superb pitch on the 17th hole in the playoff to three feet.
Berger converted his simple up-and-down for par from behind the green, and Morikawa's short par putt to extend the playoff hit the right side of the cup and spun out.
"Just hit a better putt," Morikawa said.
"My mind can't go much else than other what just happened on that hole."
Overnight leader Schauffele (69) was tied for the lead late in his round only to learn new meaning of "Horrible Horseshoe".
His three-foot par putt on the 17th in regulation dipped in the hole on the right side and came out on the left.
"If there are fans and everything with the 'oohs' and 'aahs,' I'd probably be a little more (ticked) off," Schauffele said.
Berger, whose birdie on the 18th gave him a closing round of four-under 66, won for the third time on the PGA Tour and he will jump up to 31st in the world rankings.
Schauffele, Justin Rose (66), Bryson DeChambeau (66) and Jason Kokrak (64) finished in a share of third while world No.1 Rory McIlroy had a horror front nine on his way to a four-over 74 and a tie for 32nd.
The scorecard this week included 487 tests for COVID-19, all negative.
"This has been a phenomenal start to our return," PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, who was on the first tee when golf returned on Thursday but back in Florida on Sunday, said.
The tour moves on to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, with another star-studded field to tee it up from Thursday.
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