SAVANNAH, Ga. – Steven Fisk is Georgia through and through. He was born in Atlanta and grew up on a par-3 course and driving range his father built (and still operates) in his childhood hometown of Stockbridge. He played college golf for Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, a little under 200 miles from home. He and his wife, Edith, wed last month in Augusta. And Sunday evening in Savannah, roughly an hour drive from Georgia Southern, the 26-year-old Fisk earned his first Korn Ferry Tour win.
Fisk birdied three of the final four holes of regulation and defeated Rob Oppenheim in a sudden-death playoff, capturing the 2024 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club with a two-putt par on the Deer Creek Course’s par-5 18th hole.
“Such a long day that somehow went by really fast at the same time,” Fisk said. “To get my first win right here in Savannah, so close to where I went to school, is kind of crazy. I haven’t had much success here in the past, but to get it done today is extra special to be this close to what’s kind of my adopted home.”
Fisk began the final round one stroke off the lead but trailed Oppenheim by three strokes with four holes to play. Back-to-back birdies at the par-4 15th and 16th, followed by a clutch par save at the par-3 17th, opened the door for a tying birdie at No. 18. Fisk came within inches of a hole-out eagle from the greenside bunker, but tapped in for a bogey-free 4-under 68 and matched Oppenheim at 14-under 274.
Steven Fisk nearly holes bunker shot at Club Car Championship
For the fourth consecutive event, the winner would be determined via a playoff, tying the Korn Ferry Tour record for consecutive events with a playoff. The previous instances occurred in 2004 and 2019.
In the playoff, Fisk found the right side of the fairway, while Oppenheim drove it into a fairway bunker up the same side. Both had chip shots from behind the green, with Fisk’s rolling out to roughly 12 feet. After Fisk’s two-putt par, Oppenheim had a 7-footer for par which would have extended the playoff. It grazed the left edge of the cup but never fell, sealing the win for Fisk.
“Definitely could feel the crowd on my side,” said Fisk, whose gallery included his wife, parents, as well as his former head coach and several members of the Georgia Southern golf program. “I had a great group of people following me all week, and for them to come out and continue to support me is so special.”
Fisk’s victory in his home state was more than two decades in the making.
When Fisk was 4 or 5 years old, his father, Christopher, built Rum Creek Golf, a nine-hole par-3 course with a driving range and putting green. Even in its infancy, when there was more dirt than sod laid, young Fisk had a club in his hand. By the time he turned 8 years old, Christopher said his son’s hands looked as though they belonged to a bricklayer. As he grew up, Fisk played the par-3 course four or five, maybe even six times a day.
Fisk developed a strong iron game and a unique grip, with the latter eliciting a wide range of critiques through the years.
“If you ask anybody else, my grip probably sucks,” Fisk said. “But I’ve always done it this way. I’ve tried to tinker with it over the years with my coach. It’s just not something I’ve ever been able to get comfortable with. I figured if I’m going to have success in this game, I’m going to do it my way and be stubborn, and do everything I can to make myself the best player I can be and rely on some of my natural instincts.”
Steven Fisk holes lengthy putt for birdie at Club Car Championship
Unique grip and all, Fisk racked up nine career wins in four seasons at Georgia Southern, including six as a senior in the 2018-19 season. Fisk capped his collegiate career with a runner-up finish at the 2019 NCAA Championship and turned professional.
After an undistinguished 2021 season on the Forme Tour (a one-year substitute for PGA TOUR Canada amid the COVID-19 pandemic), Fisk earned Korn Ferry Tour membership and guaranteed starts with a T19 finish at Q-School. A year later, Fisk was right back at Final Stage of Q-School, as he finished No. 119 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Points List with 13 missed cuts in 21 starts.
The second time around was much different for Fisk, who spent nearly the entire 2023 season inside the top 75 and finished No. 64 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning fully exempt status for the 2024 season.
The flexibility of fully exempt status was a blessing for Fisk, as the Korn Ferry Tour events in Argentina and Chile bumped up against his and Edith’s wedding plans. Without fear of reshuffles or a significant setback on the Points List, Fisk skipped the two events and hardly worried about the results.
Although the newlyweds were only able to vacation for a few days in Florida following the wedding, they discussed a proper honeymoon. Edith had her heart set on Cabo San Lucas.
“I told her we’d see how the year went,” Fisk said. “I think she’s looking pretty good right now.”
Final-Round Notes
- At 14-under 274, Fisk (first, 14-under) totaled the highest 72-hole score by a champion of the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (previous: Dan McCarthy/272/2019).
- Korn Ferry Tour winner Oppenheim (second, 14-under) records his third career runner-up finish on the Korn Ferry Tour (2017 Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank, 2017 DAP Championship); he also posts his first top-10 on Tour since May 2022 (T6/Visit Knoxville Open).
- John Pak (T3, 12-under), a conditional member who open qualified into this week’s field, posts his first top-10 in his 20th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour; his top-25 finish also assures him a spot in the next Korn Ferry Tour event, the LECOM Suncoast Classic, scheduled for April 18-21.
- Pak, who finished No. 1 in the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021, entered the week with one career top-25 (T17/2022 LECOM Suncoast Classic).
- Korn Ferry Tour winner Max McGreevy (T3, 12 under) records his third top-10 of the season (sixth/The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay; T8/Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard) and has not finished lower than T15 in his three starts at the Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (T15, 2020; second, 2021).
- Jeffrey Kang (T6, 11-under) ties the Korn Ferry Tour record for consecutive birdies to begin a round, making birdies on each of his first seven holes; he is the only player in Tour history to begin a final round with seven consecutive birdies.
- Kang, who earned guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the season as a Second Stage medalist from 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, entered the week without a top-10 in his previous 12 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour, with his career-high finish being T20, 2024 Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
- Philip Knowles (T3, 12-under), who shared the 54-hole lead with Kevin Roy (T6, 11 under), posts his third career top-10 and his highest finish since a T2 at the 2022 Albertsons Boise Open, which earned him a PGA TOUR card in the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
- Open qualifier Mason Williams (T9, 10-under), who played five seasons at Georgia Southern University (2018-23) and entered the week with one previous start in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event (2019 Military Tribute at The Greenbrier as sponsor exemption/MC), earns a spot in the LECOM Suncoast Classic with his top-25 finish this week
- Sponsor exemption Dalton Ward (T25 , 8-under) earns an spot in the LECOM Suncoast Classic with his second top-25 in three starts this season (T3 as open qualifier at 117th Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro).
