Rookie Scott Stallings wins 3-way playoff
PGA Tour rookie Scott Stallings carded a 1-under 69 on Sunday and then birdied the first extra hole to defeat Bill Haas and PGA Tour veteran Bob Estes to win The Greenbrier Classic. With the win Stallings earns 500 FedExCup points and moves from No. 88 to No. 26 in the point standings.Stallings, the 10th first-time winner this season, is the sixth rookie winner (the most on Tour dating to 1970). Other rookie winners in 2011 include Jhonattan Vegas, Charl Schwartzel, Brendan Steele, Keegan Bradley and Chris Kirk.
With the victory, Stallings earns a ticket into next week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
The playoff on Sunday, the first of Stallings’ career, was the 13th of the season on the PGA Tour.
Stallings, at the age of 26 years, 4 months and 6 days, is the 12th winner under the age of 30 this season. Last year, there were 16 winners in their 20s.
Bill Haas
Bill Haas finished runner-up for the third time in his career (2011 Bob Hope Classic, 2011 Greenbrier Classic, 2010 McGladrey Classic). With two runner-up finishes, Haas currently sits No. 12 in the FedExCup standings.
Haas was hoping to become just the sixth player under the age of 30 with three or more wins on the PGA Tour: Dustin Johnson (4), Sean O’Hair (4), Anthony Kim (3), Hunter Mahan (3) and Camilo Villegas (3).
Haas is now 0-2 in playoffs (2011 Bob Hope Classic, 2011 Greenbrier Classic).
Bob Estes
Bob Estes’ runner-up finish is his best showing since a second-place finish at the 2006 Reno-Tahoe Open.
Estes, who has fully recovered from recent wrist injuries, is now 0-4 in playoffs on the PGA Tour.
Bob Estes finished runner-up for his first top 10 in seven starts in 2011. The four-time PGA Tour winner has at least one top-10 finish in each of his 23 seasons since his first full season in 1989 (86 total).
The start for Bob Estes at the Greenbrier Classic was the 223rd since his last PGA Tour victory at the 2002 Kemper Insurance Open. In all, Sunday marked his 584th career start on Tour.
Estes’ previous-best finish in 2011 was a 73rd place finish at the Valero Texas Open. He entered the week with five consecutive missed cuts.
Estes’ 64 on Sunday fell just one stroke shy of his career-low final round – a fifth-round 63 in winning the 2001 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Anthony Kim
Third-round leader Anthony Kim struggled on Sunday with a 4-over 74, finishing T14. He is now two for five when carrying the lead/co-lead into the final round:
2008 Wells Fargo Championship final-round 3-under 69 Won
2009 AT&T National final-round 1-over 71 3rd
2009 RBC Canadian Open final-round 1-over 73 T3
2010 Shell Houston Open final-round 2-under 70 Won
2011 Greenbrier Classic final-round 4-over 74 T14
Brendon de Jonge
Former Virginia Tech standout Brendon de Jonge carded a 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish T4. He barely missed making the playoff, missing a 5-foot, 7-inch putt for birdie on the par-3 18th hole.
Dating to the John Deere Classic, Brendon de Jonge has turned in 10 under-par scores out of his last 12 rounds. At the John Deere Classic, rounds of 66-66-63-74 (15-under) led to a T7 finish. Rounds of 65-70-68-68 (17-under) led to a T13 finish at the Viking Classic. He made his way around The Old White TPC this week with rounds of 66-67-72-66 (9-under) to finish T4.
De Jonge made his 23rd start of the season this week, with top-10 finishes at the Greenbrier Classic (T4), Transitions Championship (T5) and the John Deere Classic (T7). He is No. 46 on the FedExCup points list.
Webb Simpson
Webb Simpson (T9) has been one of the most consistent players on Tour this year. In 18 starts, he has missed just two cuts (Farmers Insurance Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational) and amassed 14 top-25 finishes, including two runner-up finishes (Transitions Championship, Zurich Classic of New Orleans). Simpson sits No. 9 in the FedExCup standings.
Additional Player Notes
The top 70 players who earned the most official money from the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational through the 2011 Greenbrier Classic earned a spot, if not otherwise eligible, into the PGA Championship in two weeks. Three players moved into the top 70 on Sunday, including Scott Stallings, Andres Romero and Cameron Tringale.
Two players finished inside the top 10 in each of the first two Greenbrier Classics: Brendon de Jonge (3rd-2010, T4-2011) and Jimmy Walker (T4-2010, T4-2011). The state of West Virginia has been kind to Walker, who won the Nationwide Tour’s Pete Dye Classic in 2007 to eventually finishing No. 25 on the money list.
Gary Woodland, No. 7 in the FedExCup standings, finished T4 for his sixth top-10 finish this season.
Cameron Tringale finished T4 for his career-best showing on Tour. It is his fourth top 10 in 2011.
Trevor Immelman finished T14 in his attempt for his first top-10 finish on Tour since the 2008 Tour Championship by Coca-Cola (T10).
Double heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton, currently inside the top five on the Nationwide Tour money list, made his fifth weekend performance in six starts on the 2011 PGA Tour this week, finishing T73. His only missed cut came at the AT&T National, with a career-best T25 at the Northern Trust Open his best outing.
Charles Howell III finished T32 in his second start at The Old White TPC. Last year, Howell played all 72 holes without a bogey, the first player to do so and not win since Bubba Watson at the 2006 Chrysler Classic of Tucson.
A trio of ironmen (Tommy Gainey, Blake Adams and Josh Teater) lead the PGA Tour in starts in 2011. All made their 25th start of the season this week at The Greenbrier Classic. Blake Adams led the way with a T32 finish, followed by Teater (T43) and Gainey (T57).
Miscellaneous
The 492-yard, par-4 13th hole played the toughest all week for the second-consecutive year. Last year it yielded a 4.133 average, compared to 4.280 this year.
The 568-yard, par-5 12th hole was the easiest for the second-consecutive season. Last year it yielded a 4.591 average, compared to 4.693 this year.
At the inaugural Greenbrier Classic, 46 players posted all four rounds in the 60s. This year, there were none.
Bogey-free rounds:
R1: Derek Lamely (65), Will Strickler (67), J.P. Hayes (68), Spencer Levin (70)
R2: Scott Stallings (65), Tad Ridings (66), Bill Haas (67), William McGirt (68), Brandt Jobe (69)
R3: Anthony Kim (62), Jimmy Walker (62), Chris DiMarco (64), Scott Stallings (66), Nick O’Hern (66), D.A. Points (67), Josh Teater (67)
R4: Bob Estes (64), Carl Pettersson (66), Ben Curtis (67)
The cumulative scoring average this week was 70.593, compared to 68.536 a year ago.
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