Troy Matteson wins Frys.com Open

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.

Troy Matteson

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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Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly. 

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?