Troy Matteson came through a sudden-death playoff agaisnt Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark to claim his second PGA Tour victory at the Frys.com Open in Scottsdale Arizona.
Matteson who scored consecutive 61s on Friday and Saturday should have won the tournament in regulation play but bogeys at the 17th and 18th holes saw him drop back into a tie at the top.
"I can't believe that it's ended up like this," said Matteson. "I know I stumbled going down the stretch, but I'm still beside myself."
All three players parred the first extra hole then Matteson stepped up to win the event, firing his approach to just three-feet at the par-4 17th. He tapped in for the title and winner's cheque of $900,000.
20-year-old Fowler, who turned pro after the USA won the Walker Cup, picked up $440,000 and has now earned enough money to skip the first stage of Q School. He still has time to reach the top 125 on the money list and avoid the ordeal altogether (he currently sits 136th).
"I knew I was capable of coming out and competing," said Fowler, who tied for seventh in Las Vegas last week. "But to finish tied for seventh and then tied for first and then losing a playoff is a pretty quick start."
Bill Lunde and Tim Clark tied for fourth place but Mike Weir shot the round of the day. The Canadian fired a 61 to jump up the leaderboard and finish in a tie for sixth.
Frys.com Open Grayhawk Golf Club, Scottsdale, Arizona Oct 22-25, purse $5,000,000, par 70
1 Troy Matteson (USA) 72 61 61 68 262 $900,000 T2 Rickie Fowler (USA) 65 64 69 64 262 $440,000 T2 Jamie Lovemark (USA) 69 64 65 64 262 $440,000 T4 Tim Clark (RSA) 68 64 65 67 264 $220,000 T4 Bill Lunde (USA) 66 67 65 66 264 $220,000 T6 Bryce Molder (USA) 67 65 70 63 265 $173,750 T6 Mike Weir (Can) 66 67 71 61 265 $173,750 T8 Alex Cejka (Ger) 67 67 69 64 267 $135,000 T8 Ryan Moore (USA) 66 65 67 69 267 $135,000 T8 Heath Slocum (USA) 64 68 68 67 267 $135,000 T8 Chris Stroud (USA) 67 65 65 70 267 $135,000 T8 Nicholas Thompson (USA) 66 68 65 68 267 $135,000
Player scores listed in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only
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