October 25 -- After coughing up the lead with bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes at the Frys.com Open, Troy Matteson birdied the second playoff hole to beat Jamie Lovemark and Rickie Fowler at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ.
Matteson overcame his own rough finish in regulation, as well as Lovemark’s karma, to earn his second career PGA Tour victory. After all three players parred the first playoff hole, Matteson hit his approach shot to three feet from the pin on the 464-yard, par-4 17th hole. He tapped in for the win.
Walking on water. It looked as if the victory might be earmarked for Lovemark after he plunked his approach shot on the first playoff hole into the water. The ball hit the cement beneath the water and somehow bounced up onto the slope in front of the green. Lovemark chipped his shot close and made par to remain in the playoff.
It was all Matteson on the final playoff hole, however. After setting a PGA Tour record for lowest scores in successive rounds by carding 61s on Friday and Saturday, it seemed fitting that Matteson should capture the tourney.
Nothing but cup. Fowler had his chances, especially after acing the par-3 fifth hole during the final round. Following a near-record three holes-in-one during Saturday’s third round Fowler grabbed a 6-iron to reach the pin at the back of the green.
Fowler notched his hole-in-one a day after Ted Purdy, Nicholas Thompson, and Chad Campbell holed their tee shots on the par-3 16th, 13th, and 16th holes, respectively. Four aces in one PGA Tour round is this year’s record, according to the tour. Golfers carded them on the par-3, 15th hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open.
Blue skies. While Boston golfers weathered downpours on Saturday and squeezed as many holes as they could from a picture-perfect Sunday, ideal conditions prevailed on the 7,125-yard, par-70 Raptor Course at Grayhawk. The players took advantage of the sunshine and summer-like temperatures.
On Saturday, Purdy used a 5-iron on the 198-yard 16th, an ace that earned him a Mercedes-Benz E350 Sedan. A 6-iron was Campbell’s magic club when he conquered the 16th about an hour later.
Thompson, however, had the day of his life. After a 300-yard drive on the 561-yard, par-5 11th, he took his 3-wood for a 261-yard approach shot to the green. Neither Thompson nor Golf Channel saw the ball drop into the hole for the rare double eagle, but the gallery did.
"I heard some claps and I think, 'Nice, it's on the green,'" Thompson later told reporters. "And I see a guy throw his arms up in the air and I'm like, 'Yes, tap-in eagle.' Then I hear them roar and I'm like 'Wait a minute. That's a double eagle. Yes!’”
A mere two holes later, Thompson used a 6-iron to plunk his ball into the hole. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 5-under in three holes.
Back and forth. On Sunday, the match seemed to be between Matteson and Fowler, especially after Fowler’s hole-in-one. Matteson, for his part, had no idea what his opponent was doing because he would not look at the leaderboard.
"When you've got a little bit of a lead and you start playing good on the front side,” Matteson told reporters after his win, “the worst thing you can do is look over and see somebody is 5, 6, 7 under on the day.”
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