Play-off birdie brings Stallings first PGA title

Updated August 01, 2011 10:16:57

Rookie Scott Stallings sank a seven-foot birdie putt on Sunday's first play-off hole to beat fellow Americans Bob Estes and Bill Haas and win the PGA Greenbrier Classic.

The 26-year-old newcomer who turned professional in 2009 captured the top prize and claimed a berth in next year's Masters, an event he saw for a day in 2009 and vowed he would not attend again until he played in it.

"It's a dream come true," Stallings said.

Estes, Haas and Stallings each finished 72 holes on 10-under-par 270. Estes fired a final round 64 while Haas shot 67 and Stallings carded a 69, needing a five-foot birdie on his 72nd hole to stay in the championship hunt.

The play-off began on the Old White course's par-3 18th hole with Stallings putting his tee shot closest to the pin while Haas was 22 feet away and Estes was half that distance.

Haas left his birdie putt inches short while Estes went two feet past to the right of the cup, leaving Stallings to curl his putt home and celebrate.

Stallings endured a roller coaster final round. He made four bogeys on the front nine, birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine and wedged a bogey at the par-5 17th between birdies at the par-4 16th and par-3 18th.

"I felt really good going into 17," Stallings said. "I hit a bad shot and got a bad break, hit the tree and went into the water. Then to birdie 18 like I did was incredible."

Estes, ranked 479th in the world after a wrist injury, made six birdies in a bogey-free final round, including back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18, the latter from 15 feet, to reach 10-under.

Haas opened and closed the front nine with birdies and birdied the 10th as well, then answered his lone bogey at the par-3 15th with a birdie at 17.

Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge, Argentina's Andres Romero and Americans Jimmy Walker, Gary Woodland and Cameron Tringale shared fourth on 271.

AFP

Tags: golf, sport, united-states

First posted August 01, 2011 08:49:12

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Control brings Choi his biggest prize

Updated May 17, 2011 09:11:00

South Korean KJ Choi showed supreme control and focus as he beat American David Toms in a sudden-death playoff to become the first Asian golfer to win the Players Championship.

A birdie on the 17th looked to have given Choi victory in regulation but Toms ensured the event would go into extra time when he sunk a superb 17-foot putt on the last hole.

That could easily have been a momentum shifting putt but Choi kept calm, strolling purposely to the 17th tee for the playoff and making par while his rival bogeyed.

"When I started my day, one thing I told myself that I needed to do was to not get swept away by the cheers of the crowd, of the gallery, not get swept up in the pressure, by how other players were doing," he said.

"When David Toms made that putt on the 18th for birdie, the roar was as loud as something you would hear at the Masters.

"But I felt comfortable all day, with the whole situation and environment. I knew there were going to be a lot of the gallery cheering for David."

That was the case but in the end the applause was for 40-year-old Choi, a former world number five who remains a popular figure among golf's fans - including a Tennessee based supporters group - 'Choi's Bois'.

It was a miss from three-and-a-half feet on the 17th in the playoff that cost Toms and Choi said he knew as soon as the American struck the ball that victory was his.

"David's putt was down-slope and I could tell it was a difficult one because when I practiced it I saw that it was a difficult lie, the greens are bumpy there. I knew it wasn't going to be easy," he said.

"I noticed when he made his putt that at impact, his follow through on his stroke was a little bit bigger than it should have been.

"When he missed that putt, at that moment, as a fellow player, I felt very sorry for him because I know how that feels."

Throughout the round it was clear Choi was in no danger of melting under pressure and, when asked to provide suggestions for young players, he revealed the mentality that has allowed him to win eight times on the PGA Tour, a record for any Asian player.

"You have to really be able to maintain your lifestyle. You have to be very regimented to have a long career out here on the tour," he said.

"I was able to do that, to main myself physically and mentally very well. I always felt I had the confidence, I train hard and practice hard.

"I think you need to live your life to the fullest. When I say that, I don't mean partying all the time. Live a systematic, regimented life and always be humble. That is my motto."

- Reuters

Tags: sport, golf, united-states

First posted May 17, 2011 09:00:00

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