Troy Merritt walked to the final tee with a three-shot lead and slapped hands with fans on both sides of the ropes, knowing he had all but wrapped up his first PGA Tour title and wanting to show his appreciation for the fans cheering him on.
Not a bad turnaround for a player who had missed five cuts in a row coming into the Quicken Loans National.

Merritt shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday and finished his first career victory in 96 starts with a flourish, rolling in a 34-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole. After the putt fell, the 29-year-old former Boise State player raised his hands, looked toward the crowd and shrugged his shoulders.

Rickie Fowler, who started the day one shot off the lead, also made a birdie on the final hole to claim second place at 15 under, and David Lingmerth was third, but both had up-and-down rounds. Fowler shot a 69 that featured seven birdies and five bogeys, and Lingmerth's 69 included five birdies and three bogeys.

Fowler waited and gave Merritt a hug after his final putt dropped.

Tiger Woods made a run at contention with birdies on five of his first 10 holes to get to 10 under, but with a huge crowd following and shouting encouragement, he missed a 3-foot putt at No. 11, the first of three bogeys in four holes.

His bogey on the 12th came despite one of the best shots of the tournament. After hitting his drive well right and into a hazard, he took a drop and then hit a blind 5-wood to the back fringe of the green, about 15 feet from the cup.

Woods finished with a 68 to tie for 18th at 8 under.