2021 Zurich Classic grades: Australian duo of Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith prevails in playoff

A wild final hour unfolded at TPC Louisiana on Sunday

It became clear early in Round 4 on Sunday at the Zurich Classic that the tournament was going to come down to the two teams in the final pairing at TPC Louisiana, which happened to be two teams that know one another pretty well. The South African squad of Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel led by one over the Australian duo of Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith coming into the 18 holes of alternate-shot play. Neither team got more than two clear of the other team, although both teams led by that many on multiple holes. The last hour was chaos. In the end, Smith and Leishman prevailed in a playoff, but it sure did not look like that was going to be the case over the last four holes. Smith and Leishman were up by one stroke on the 15th tee box, but a birdie from the South Africans and a sloppy Aussie bogey left them down one going to No. 16. The tournament began to play on the back nine -- with few other teams in the mix -- like a more volatile version of match play. Then on the 16th tee, Smith got a bad bounce on his approach to the drivable par 4. It rolled up toward the green and then back down into the water. Following the bogey, it felt like a death knell. But after dropping greenside Leishman chipped one in for birdie to tie it up at 21 under.