Scotland’s Martin Laird holed a 22-foot birdie putt in a three-way playoff to claim his first PGA Tour title in more than seven years at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open held at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
Laird, 37, who shared the lead going into the final round, bogeyed the 18th hole to finish on 23 under and drop into a play-off with American pair Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff.
All three made par on the first extra hole before Laird won it at the next.
“This win might go right to the top, because it’s been a while,” he said. “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 had been involved in a play-off at the Shriners Open in 2010, when American Jonathan Byrd found a hole-in-one on the fourth extra hole to take the title.
His final round on Sunday contained an eagle at the ninth hole, when he chipped in despite his ball appearing buried in a greenside bunker. He then scrambled to maintain his lead by making par after finding the trees off the tee on 17, before three-putting from 28ft on the final hole to crucially drop a shot and end the day with a three-under-par 68.
It presented Cook and US Open runner-up Wolff with a play-off chance, but after his rivals made par at the second extra hole, Laird’s fine putt earned him the $1.26m first prize, the biggest of his career to date.
“I’m unbelievably excited to have pulled that off. You have some doubts at times whether you’re going to get another one,” added Laird, who now has four wins on the PGA Tour. “Since my last win, I’ve struggled with my game at times. I’m really proud how I played this week. To see that putt go in on that hole, it was pretty special.”
Martin Laird’s winning gear
Driver: Ping G410 LST (9 degrees)
Fairway wood: Titleist TS3 (15), TaylorMade R15 (19)
Irons: Srixon Z785 (4-PW)
Wedges: Cleveland RTX 3 (52), Cleveland RTX 4 (56, 60)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV