Cameron Beckman wins Frys.com Open

Cameron Beckman wins the Frys.com Open in a playoff against Kevin Sutherland.

Cameron Beckman

Cameron Beckman completed a thrilling comeback to win the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale Arizona following a playoff against Kevin Sutherland.

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The 38-year-old started the week 176th on the money list and, having missed much of the season with back problems, a trip to Q-school seemed likely. But, with this victory Beckman earned a cheque for $900,000 and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

"It's just been a tough year," Beckman said. "I honestly was thinking about quitting the game. That's how bad I felt. I can't explain to you how good I feel right now. I don't know what it was and why I did it, but I just felt good all day."

Beckman trailed Sutherland by four shots after nine holes of the final round but he then birdied five of the next seven holes to peg back the deficit. Sutherland missed a putt on the 72nd green to win it outright and that meant extra holes were required.

On the second extra hole Sutherland hit his second shot way right then missed the green with his third. Beckman had found the green in two and had the luxury of taking two putts from six feet to secure his second PGA Tour victory. He also won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic of 2001.

Sutherland was playing with less pressure than many of the competitors in the field. Going into the week 32nd on the money list his card is safe for 2009 and he’s already qualified to play in next year’s Masters and Open Championship.

“I feel good about how I played. A second-place finish is nothing to sneeze at," Sutherland said, "but right now it's a little hard to see that through the disappointment." He said. “Cameron was playing with a lot more pressure than I was.”

1  Cameron Beckman (USA)  69  66  64  63  262  $900,000 2  Kevin Sutherland (USA)  67  66  63  66  262  $540,000 3  Matthew Goggin (Aus)  69  63  68  63  263  $340,000 T4  J.J. Henry (USA)  65  69  68  64  266  $206,667 T4  Mike Weir (Can)  66  68  69  63  266  $206,667 T4  Arron Oberholser (USA)  65  64  71  66  266  $206,667 T7  Steve Allan (Aus)  67  63  68  69  267  $150,625 T7  Paul Goydos (USA)  70  62  66  69  267  $150,625 T7  Pat Perez (USA)  71      66  67  63  267  $150,625 T7  Michael Sim (Aus)  72  63  68  64  267  $150,625

Note: Players in bold signifies Titleist ball usage.

Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?