Vick claims Jr Players title after rain delay, playoff

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – Travis Vick has his first AJGA victory. To get it, Vick had to survive a rain delay and a three-way playoff on a PGA Tour venue, TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Vick, who was tied for the lead coming into the final round, carded a final-round 2-under-par 70 to get into a playoff with Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C., and Bo Jin of (China) Encinitas, Calif. The trio played No. 18 as the first hole of the sudden-death playoff. Bhatia made par on the hole while Jin chipped in from the front of the green and Vick sank a 12-footer, both for birdie, to extend the playoff to No. 16. Jin found trouble off the tee and went on to bogey as Vick found the green in two and two-putted for birdie.

“Sitting on the lead is kind of tough,” Vick said. “Being tied with Akshay, I knew I had to play really good golf. I started off really well and made some good par saves, so it was nice to be able to go into the playoff and win.”

Vick’s instinct was right on. Bhatia has been one of junior golf’s hottest players this year. He won the Sage Valley Junior Invitational, the Polo Golf Junior Classic and defended his title at the Junior PGA Championship. Bhatia lost in the finals at the U.S. Junior.

Playoff survived. The #JrPLAYERS champ, Travis Vick. pic.twitter.com/OtU8r44SWF

— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) September 3, 2018

Vick shot a final round 2-under-par 70 to go along with his two previous rounds of 68-70 for a tournament-total 8-under-par 208. The University of Texas verbal commit now has played in 21 AJGA events with this being his first victory.

“I’ve been playing AJGA events since I was 11 and I have finished second about six different times,” Vick said. “Being able finish and win here at TPC Sawgrass was really something special.”