WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, July 31, 2011 (AFP) - Rookie Scott Stallings sank a seven-foot birdie putt on Sunday's first playoff 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 $1.08 million 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 playoff 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.
Leading scores on Sunday after the final round of the $6 million Greenbrier Classic (USA unless noted, par 70, Stallings wins playoff with birdie on first playoff hole):
270 - Bob Estes 69-72-65-64, Bill Haas 71-67-65-67, Scott Stallings 70-65-66-69
271 - Andres Romero (ARG) 71-69-66-65, Brendon de Jonge (ZIM) 66-67-72-66, Cameron Tringale 70-67-67-67, Jimmy Walker 69-72-62-68, Gary Woodland 65-70-67-69
272 - Kyle Stanley 66-75-65-66, Webb Simpson 65-68-69-70
273 - Chris DiMarco 66-75-64-68, Johnson Wagner 72-67-66-68, Chris Couch 68-68-67-70
274 - Trevor Immelman (RSA) 64-70-73-67, John Senden (AUS) 70-70-65-69, Scott Verplank 72-66-67-69, Anthony Kim 69-69-62-74
...
275 - Carl Pettersson (SWE) 70-70-69-66, Steven Bowditch (AUS) 65-75-68-67, Chris Baryla (CAN) 67-69-72-67, David Hearn (CAN) 66-72-69-68, Brian Davis (GBR) 71-64-70-70
276 - Nick O'Hern (AUS) 70-68-66-72
277 - Adam Hadwin (CAN) 70-71-68-68, Aron Price (AUS) 69-67-72-69
278 - Sergio Garcia (ESP) 72-69-69-68
279 - Fabian Gomez (ARG) 71-68-70-70
280 - Andre Stolz (AUS) 69-69-70-72
281 - Steve Allan (AUS) 71-68-70-72, Ryuji Imada (JPN) 69-70-68-74
285 - Camilo Villegas (COL) 71-66-77-71
290 - Bi-o Kim (KOR) 71-70-74-75