Lindquist Waits, Then Strikes: Nate Lindquist Wins WSG x Topgolf Satellite Series Finals

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. For seven holes, Nate Lindquist was the quietest man in the bay. He folded. He watched. He let three bay champions trade haymakers across the front nine of Spyglass Hill while his stack barely moved.

Then came Hole 8.

With nearly $39,000 in the middle and three of the four finalists all in, Lindquist carded the only 4 on Spyglass Hill’s uphill, bunker-guarded eighth. One stroke of separation, and the player sitting third suddenly held 90 percent of the chips on the table. Cameron Cropper was gone. Patrick Swisher and Ryan Johnston were left clinging to scraps.

One hole later, Lindquist was the champion of the World Series of Golf x Topgolf Satellite Series Finals, Friday night at Topgolf Scottsdale at Talking Stick. He finished with $33,501 of the $40,000 in play, capping a night that delivered a $50 escape, a perfect table sweep, and the biggest pot the format has ever produced.

Fittingly, Lindquist reads tables for a living. He deals poker at Rivers Casino in Philadelphia and earned his seat in Scottsdale by winning the local qualifier at Topgolf Mount Laurel.

On Friday night, the dealer played his hand like a pro.

Golf With Chips on the Line

WSG fuses stroke play with poker-style betting. Every player starts with a stack. Antes climb as the round goes on. Between shots, players bet, call, raise or fold, and the lowest score among the players still in the hand takes the pot. Hit a bad drive and you can fold and live to fight another hole. Commit your chips and you had better finish.

Sixteen players opened Friday’s event in four bays of four, playing the back nine of

Spyglass Hill from the white tees with $10,000 stacks. Only the bay winners advanced. The final four then reset to fresh $10,000 stacks for a nine-hole championship on Spyglass’s front side. Antes started at 100 for the first three holes, doubled to 200 for the middle three, and doubled again to 400 for the closing stretch. That ladder would matter.

Round 1: Four Bays, Four Tickets

Bay 118: Cropper Survives by $50

Chris Palmer looked like the surest bet in the building. A solo win on Hole 14 pulled in a $10,800 pot and pushed him past $15,000, and he walked to the 18th tee holding $14,100. Cropper sat second at $11,666, Brad Olson had $10,467, and Paul Shoemaker, bled dry by antes, was down to $3,767.

Shoemaker shoved his last $3,367. Palmer folded and banked $13,700, a number that looked safe. It wasn’t. Cropper and Olson both called, and after their second shots Cropper pushed his remaining $7,899. Olson called all in for $6,700.

Shoemaker made 5. Cropper and Olson each made 4 and split the pot down the middle, $12,551 to Cropper and $12,550 to Olson. Add the $1,199 returned uncalled, and Cropper finished at $13,750. Palmer finished at $13,700. Fifty chips. That was the whole margin between a finals seat and the rail.

Bay 119: Johnston Takes It, Sportsmanship Steals the Spotlight

Ryan Johnston set the tone on the very first hole, beating David Deadrich’s 5 with a crisp 4 to scoop a $5,600 opener. Michael Ruffin hit it well off the tee but struggled on the target greens and slid into defensive play.

The bay’s best moment came on Hole 17. Dueling Deadrich, Matt Young accidentally triggered a fold in the app. Both players agreed the contest on the range was still live, so they hit it out. Each made 5. Deadrich and Young honored the result on the grass, executing an audited $4,000 transfer to split the $8,000 pot evenly.

On 18, with the ante at 400, the bay went all in around Johnston. Young pushed his full $10,900, Ruffin went in for $7,600 and Deadrich for $6,950. Johnston matched Young’s $10,900 and kept $3,650 behind. Johnston and Deadrich both delivered clutch 4s and split the $27,800 main pot. Deadrich wasn’t eligible for the two side pots, so Johnston took both, collecting $22,450 in all and closing the bay at $26,100. Deadrich survived at $13,900. Young and Ruffin were eliminated.

Bay 120: Lindquist Strikes Late, for the First Time

Dan Bennett came out hot, winning Holes 10 and 11 back to back to build nearly $14,000. Rob Granroth answered with wins on 12, 14 and 16, then rolled in a 3 on 17 to take a $10,600 pot and the chip lead at $16,000.

It all came down to 18, and nobody held back. Lindquist shoved his entire $10,600, Granroth matched it, Bennett went all in for $9,500 and Schultz for $3,900. Granroth and Bennett both slipped to 5. Lindquist and Schultz both made 4 and split the $15,600 main pot. Schultz’s short stack kept him out of the side pots, and Lindquist swept both, collecting $26,800 to jump past Granroth and win the bay. Granroth finished at $5,400 and Bennett was eliminated. Nobody in Scottsdale knew it yet, but it was a preview.

Bay 121: Swisher Takes Everything

Ben Nguyen won an early $3,700 pot on Hole 10 and a $12,000 pot on Hole 16. It wasn’t enough. Patrick Swisher was in a different gear.

On the par-3 15th, Swisher made a 2 to collect $6,800. On 17, with Billy Scogin and Nguyen each shoving $5,116 and Daniel Dubee shoving $4,433, he made another 2 and swept a $21,381 four-way pot. On 18, heads up, Nguyen moved his final $10,918 into the middle. Swisher called, made 4 to Nguyen’s 5, and collected $22,636.

The final tally: every one of the 40,000 chips in Bay 121 belonged to Patrick Swisher.

The Final: Three Fighters and a Spectator

The championship bay reset everyone to $10,000. For seven holes, it played like a three-man brawl with a fourth man holding the coats.

Johnston struck first. On the 595-yard par-5 1st, Johnston, Swisher and Cropper each put 1,500 into the pot, and Johnston’s 4 beat Swisher’s 5 and Cropper’s 6 for a $4,900 haul and a $13,300 stack. Lindquist folded. Cropper bounced back on the 349-yard 2nd, raising 1,400 after his opening shot and rolling in a 3 to beat Swisher’s 4 for $3,200. On the par-3 3rd, Swisher fired an 800 bet and nobody wanted any part of it.

The ante doubled to 200 and the grind began. Swisher and Cropper put 1,000 each into the 370-yard 4th, both made 4, and chopped it. On the par-3 5th, all four players committed 1,000. Swisher, Cropper and Lindquist each made 3 and split $1,600 apiece while Johnston made 4. It was the only pot Lindquist touched through seven holes.

Then Swisher went to work on the 444-yard 6th, the hardest hole on Spyglass Hill. He pushed 2,400 chips across two bets. Cropper matched him at every turn. Swisher made 4, Cropper made 5, and the Bay 121 juggernaut took a $6,500 pot and the chip lead at $11,700.

On the par-5 7th, with the ante now 400, Cropper, Johnston and Swisher each called 1,000 and each made 3 to chop it three ways. Lindquist folded again.

The chip counts walking to the 8th tee told the story. Swisher led at $11,833. Johnston had $10,733. Lindquist sat third at $9,300, barely touched since the opening tee shot. Cropper trailed at $8,134. Lindquist had spent the afternoon getting out of the way. He was about to get in it.

Hole 8: Everything in the Middle

Spyglass Hill’s 8th is a 399-yard par 4 that climbs uphill into heavy bunkering. On Friday it produced the biggest hand in WSG history.

The betting turned into a stampede. Cropper went all in for his entire $8,134. Lindquist, after hours of patience, pushed all $9,300 he had. Johnston shoved his full $10,733, and Swisher matched him, keeping just $1,100 behind.

Three players all in and a fourth nearly so. In the middle sat $38,900, 97 percent of the chips on the table, riding on one par 4.

Johnston made 5. Swisher made 5. Cropper made 5. Lindquist made 4.

One stroke decided the championship. Lindquist’s 4 won the $32,536 main pot and a $3,498 side pot, a $36,034 haul. Johnston and Swisher, the only two players in the last side pot, tied with 5s and split it. Cropper, the man who survived Bay 118 by 50 chips, was eliminated on the spot. Johnston was gutted to $1,433. Swisher, who had not lost a stack all night, was crippled to $2,533. In a single hole, Lindquist went from third place to 90 percent of the chips in play.

Hole 9: The Coronation

The final hole was a formality, though Swisher made sure it wasn’t a quiet one. Lindquist moved all in. Johnston folded and finished third at $1,033. Swisher called with his last $2,133, made a 4 to Lindquist’s 5 and won the hand, the last word from the player who swept an entire bay. It lifted him to $5,466 and second place.

It didn’t matter. With $33,501 returned uncalled, Nathaniel Lindquist was the champion.

The Spoils

The win punched Lindquist’s ticket to the World Series of Golf Championship. Lotto.com representative Kweku Sapra-Grant presented him with a check covering his $10,000 entry.

His luck didn’t stop at the bay. Lindquist also won the Lotto.com scratch-off contest, taking home a $250 Topgolf gift card.

Nobody left Talking Stick empty-handed. Every local winner received a Citizen watch.

Each contestant took home a Zenni Optical gift bag, a Lotto.com T-shirt, Titleist Pro V1 golf balls stamped with the Lotto.com logo, and a sharp golf hat from Black Clover.

Final Standings

Finish Player Final Stack Path to the Final

1st Nathaniel Lindquist $33,501 Won Bay 120 with a 4 on 18

2nd Patrick Swisher $5,466 Swept all $40,000 in Bay 121

3rd Ryan Johnston $1,033 Won Bay 119 with $26,100

4th Cameron Cropper $0 Won Bay 118 by $50

Swisher will be remembered for the two 2s and the perfect sweep. Cropper will be remembered for the 50 chips. But the trophy went to the player who understood the ante ladder best: fold the small pots, protect the stack, and wait for the one hole where everyone else has to commit.

On Hole 8, Nate Lindquist found it. Then he made the only 4 that mattered.