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Scotland's Martin Laird held his nerve in a three-man playoff at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open to grab his first PGA Tour victory for over seven years. A birdie at the second extra hole saw off the challenge of Americans Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff earning Laird the $1.26m winner's cheque.
Simple eagle !
The Scot could have won the event in normal time but a sloppy bogey on the 18th hole confined him to a playoff alongside Wolff and Cook on 23-under-par. Laird began the day in a share of the lead alongside Patrick Cantlay at 20-under-par. As Cantlay dropped out of contention with four bogies in his first six holes Laird got off to a slow but steady start with five straight pars. Laird came alive at the 6th and 7th holes with back to back birdies and a then eagled the 9th hole when he chipped in what appeared to be a buried lie in a greenside bunker. However, a dropped shot at the 10th hole cut his lead to one over a charging Austin Cook. U.S. Open runner up Matthew Wolff, who had had a scintillating third round of 61 the previous day was also making a move. Birdies the 6th, 9th and 13th brought him to within a shot of Laird before a bogey at the 14th dropped him further back. Wolff piled on the pressure again at the 16th hole, where all he needed was a booming drive followed by a wedge to set up his eagle. He could not find a birdie at either of the final holes and so was left to wait to see what Laird could do. Laird three-putted the 16th to only make par but followed up with a tremendous par save at the 17th. He stood on the 18th tee one shot clear but failed to get up and down for par at the last hole to drop into the playoff. "I had a bunch of life changes since my last win. Now I've got a couple kids who kept asking me when I was going to win the trophy. It's going to be nice to take a trophy home for them this time." Laird said after his dramatic win. "I'm unbelievably excited to have pulled that off. You have some doubts at times whether you're going to get another one." Mexico's Abraham Ancer finished in outright fourth place on 20 under par after a closing 67. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau, playing for the last time before heads to Augusta next month, posted a five-under-par 66 He eagled the 15th but a dropped shot at the last dropped him back into a share of eighth place eighteen-under-par.
