By PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated PressDULUTH, Ga. — Ryuji Imada watched someone else go in the water this time.
Imada claimed his first PGA Tour victory Sunday, beating Kenny Perry in a playoff at the AT&T Classic after losing the same suburban Atlanta tournament a year ago on the 73rd hole.
The two finished regulation at 15-under 273, but Perry’s ball wound up in the water on the first playoff hole even though his second shot easily cleared the pond in front of the green.
Unfortunately for Perry, he struck a pine tree behind the green about 10 feet up the trunk. The ball ricocheted straight back across the putting surface and didn’t stop rolling until it was in the water, the gallery groaning in disbelief.
“I couldn’t really tell what happened,” said Imada, who was standing on a plateau that towers above the green. “I asked a couple of people and one of them said it was close and another said it was in the water. That’s why it took me so long to make the decision to lay up.”
Imada, who had driven into the rough, played it safe with an iron on the par-5 hole and wound up two-putting for the winning par.
After taking a drop, Perry nearly spun back his wedge into the cup, then missed a 12-footer that would have forced another extra hole. Imada stepped up and calmly knocked his ball straight in from 4 feet for the victory.
“I left myself a tester,” he said. “I’m glad it went in.
Imada has been a runner-up three times on the PGA Tour, including twice already this season. A year ago, he got into a playoff with Zach Johnson at the TPC Sugarloaf, only to lose when he knocked his second shot into the same pond that claimed Perry’s ball.
A native of Japan, Imada had plenty of fans cheering him on; he attended the nearby University of Georgia. As he walked off the green after his winning putt, a few fans woofed it up. In the interview room, someone yelled, “Go Dogs!”
Imada was already pondering what his win means for 2009 — an extra trip to Georgia. To be more specific, Augusta National.
“I know I get invited to the Masters now,” he said, breaking into a big smile. “I always dreamed of playing there since I was a kid. I can’t wait to see what it’s like.”
Imada needed a birdie on the 72nd hole just to get in the playoff. Trailing Perry by a stroke, he was right of the green with a 3-wood, but chipped up to 4 feet and made the putt for a 5-under 67.
Perry, playing in the final group, still had a chance for the outright win with a birdie of his own. He chose to lay up with his second shot, but his wedge from 118 yards wasn’t nearly as close as he wanted. He misread a 25-foot putt and settled for a 69, his fourth consecutive round in the 60s.
He probably wishes he had laid up again on the extra hole.
“I hit a beautiful 5-wood,” Perry said. “I must have been pumped up because it hit the tree trunk over there and shot across the green into the water. What are you going to do?”
Camilo Villegas shot a 66 but missed an eagle putt at the 72nd hole that would have gotten him in the playoff. He wound up one shot back. Jonathan Byrd was two strokes behind in fourth, but no one outside of Perry was kicking himself as much as Parker McLachlin.
He appeared to be pulling away for his first PGA Tour win when he eagled out of a bunker at No. 13, giving him a three-stroke lead.
But the pressure of being in contention for the first time clearly got to McLachlin down the stretch. He bogeyed three of the last five holes to finish with a 67 and a 276 total, three shots out of the playoff.
“You’ve got your nerves going,” McLachlin conceded. “You’re trying to steady yourself, but the wind is blowing so hard, it’s hard to steady yourself.”
That was never more apparent than at the final hole. McLachlin outdrove his two playing partners and was in virtually the same position as the two previous days, when he made eagle and birdie at the par-5 18th.
After Matt Kuchar and Dan Forsman both cleared the water from farther away, McLachlin stepped up to attempt the same with a hybrid.
But as he looked down at the tiny green below, the wind that had been gusting strongly all day suddenly shifted and started blowing right in his face. McLachlin hovered there for a good 5 minutes, first pulling a 3-wood from his bag, then switching to an iron for the lay-up.
The gallery down below began to grumble, then broke into full-scale heckling when they saw he was playing it safe.
McLachlin said he had no choice, but the move backfired. He wound up missing a long birdie putt, then lipped out a 3 1/2-footer for par.
“I just wasn’t set up right, so I had to take my medicine,” McLachlin said of his decision. “I couldn’t wait around 20 minutes to hit a shot,” before adding with a grin, “though I tried to.”
Charles Howell III went into the final round with a one-stroke lead, but he couldn’t close it out for his third Tour win. The Augusta native struggled to a 74 and finished four shots back.
The final round began early after the forecast called for the chance of afternoon thunderstorms. The players went off from both the first and 10th tees, with the final groups getting on the course at 10:15 a.m.
Final scores with relation to par and earnings from the AT&T Classic, played May 15-18 at the par-72, 7,311-yard TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. (Note: x-won in playoff):
| 1. x-Ryuji Imada |
(4,500) |
|
$990,000 |
|
71-69-66-67--273 |
|
|
-15 |
| 2. Kenny Perry |
(2,700) |
|
594,000 |
|
66-69-69-69--273 |
|
|
-15 |
| 3. Camilo Villegas |
(1,700) |
|
374,000 |
|
68-69-71-66--274 |
|
|
-14 |
| 4. Jonathan Byrd |
(1,200) |
|
264,000 |
|
66-66-73-70--275 |
|
|
-13 |
| 5. Parker McLachlin |
(913) |
|
200,750 |
|
66-70-73-67--276 |
|
|
-12 |
| 5. James Driscoll |
(913) |
|
200,750 |
|
71-72-66-67--276 |
|
|
-12 |
| 5. Justin Bolli |
(913) |
|
200,750 |
|
73-66-68-69--276 |
|
|
-12 |
| 8. Heath Slocum |
(750) |
|
165,000 |
|
69-68-69-71--277 |
|
|
-11 |
| 8. Charles Howell III |
(750) |
|
165,000 |
|
67-69-67-74--277 |
|
|
-11 |
| 10. Ryan Palmer |
(675) |
|
148,500 |
|
66-69-70-73--278 |
|
|
-10 |
| 11. Bill Haas |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
69-74-70-66--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. John Huston |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
70-74-68-67--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. John Rollins |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
73-67-73-66--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. Briny Baird |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
72-69-70-68--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. Bob Tway |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
72-70-69-68--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. Stewart Cink |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
68-71-71-69--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. Bubba Watson |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
75-66-68-70--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. Steve Elkington |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
71-69-68-71--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 11. Craig Kanada |
(467) |
|
102,667 |
|
68-71-69-71--279 |
|
|
-9 |
| 20. Gavin Coles |
(281) |
|
61,820 |
|
70-70-70-70--280 |
|
|
-8 |
| 20. Nick O'Hern |
(281) |
|
61,820 |
|
69-72-69-70--280 |
|
|
-8 |
| 20. Matt Kuchar |
(281) |
|
61,820 |
|
71-69-69-71--280 |
|
|
-8 |
| 20. Omar Uresti |
(281) |
|
61,820 |
|
74-69-65-72--280 |
|
|
-8 |
| 20. David Toms |
(281) |
|
61,820 |
|
67-69-69-75--280 |
|
|
-8 |
| 25. John Mallinger |
(195) |
|
42,900 |
|
68-72-71-70--281 |
|
|
-7 |
| 25. Brian Gay |
(195) |
|
42,900 |
|
71-68-72-70--281 |
|
|
-7 |
| 25. Steve Flesch |
(195) |
|
42,900 |
|
68-73-73-67--281 |
|
|
-7 |
| 25. D.J. Trahan |
(195) |
|
42,900 |
|
70-70-70-71--281 |
|
|
-7 |
| 25. Brett Quigley |
(195) |
|
42,900 |
|
70-70-68-73--281 |
|
|
-7 |
| 30. Bob May |
(159) |
|
34,925 |
|
68-76-69-69--282 |
|
|
-6 |
| 30. Ted Purdy |
(159) |
|
34,925 |
|
67-73-71-71--282 |
|
|
-6 |
| 30. Bob Heintz |
(159) |
|
34,925 |
|
68-72-70-72--282 |
|
|
-6 |
| 30. Dan Forsman |
(159) |
|
34,925 |
|
72-70-68-72--282 |
|
|
-6 |
| 34. Tom Scherrer |
(126) |
|
27,775 |
|
69-74-70-70--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 34. Kevin Sutherland |
(126) |
|
27,775 |
|
70-72-71-70--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 34. Retief Goosen |
(126) |
|
27,775 |
|
73-68-71-71--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 34. Tom Byrum |
(126) |
|
27,775 |
|
72-69-70-72--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 34. Michael Allen |
(126) |
|
27,775 |
|
71-71-72-69--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 34. Zach Johnson |
(126) |
|
27,775 |
|
69-70-71-73--283 |
|
|
-5 |
| 40. Chez Reavie |
(100) |
|
22,000 |
|
72-72-69-71--284 |
|
|
-4 |
| 40. Brandt Jobe |
(100) |
|
22,000 |
|
73-67-72-72--284 |
|
|
-4 |
| 40. Joe Ogilvie |
(100) |
|
22,000 |
|
73-70-71-70--284 |
|
|
-4 |
| 40. Ian Leggatt |
(100) |
|
22,000 |
|
72-72-72-68--284 |
|
|
-4 |
| 44. Dustin Johnson |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
70-73-70-72--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Stephen Leaney |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
70-72-71-72--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Troy Matteson |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
71-70-72-72--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Jonathan Kaye |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
66-78-70-71--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Jim McGovern |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
74-70-67-74--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Larry Mize |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
71-73-70-71--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Jay Williamson |
(72) |
|
15,895 |
|
72-67-75-71--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 44. Esteban Toledo |
0 |
|
15,895 |
|
71-72-72-70--285 |
|
|
-3 |
| 52. Chris Kirk |
0 |
|
12,980 |
|
69-71-71-75--286 |
|
|
-2 |
| 52. Rich Beem |
(59) |
|
12,980 |
|
70-73-68-75--286 |
|
|
-2 |
| 52. Brian Davis |
(59) |
|
12,980 |
|
69-71-75-71--286 |
|
|
-2 |
| 55. Guy Boros |
(57) |
|
12,485 |
|
68-73-72-74--287 |
|
|
-1 |
| 55. Corey Pavin |
(57) |
|
12,485 |
|
72-69-72-74--287 |
|
|
-1 |
| 55. Len Mattiace |
(57) |
|
12,485 |
|
75-69-71-72--287 |
|
|
-1 |
| 55. Dean Wilson |
(57) |
|
12,485 |
|
73-71-74-69--287 |
|
|
-1 |
| 59. Nick Flanagan |
(56) |
|
12,210 |
|
72-72-70-74--288 |
|
|
E |
| 60. Jeff Gove |
(55) |
|
11,990 |
|
69-75-72-73--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 60. Kenneth Ferrie |
(55) |
|
11,990 |
|
76-68-72-73--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 60. Lee Janzen |
(55) |
|
11,990 |
|
70-74-73-72--289 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 63. Gabriel Hjertstedt |
(52) |
|
11,495 |
|
70-71-72-77--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 63. Bob Sowards |
(52) |
|
11,495 |
|
67-71-76-76--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 63. Andrew Buckle |
(52) |
|
11,495 |
|
74-70-71-75--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 63. Eric Axley |
(52) |
|
11,495 |
|
72-69-75-74--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 63. John Morse |
(52) |
|
11,495 |
|
71-71-76-72--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 63. Kevin Streelman |
(52) |
|
11,495 |
|
71-72-79-68--290 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 69. Robert Damron |
(50) |
|
10,945 |
|
71-73-70-77--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 69. Marc Turnesa |
(50) |
|
10,945 |
|
74-68-74-75--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 69. Chris Riley |
(50) |
|
10,945 |
|
70-72-75-74--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 69. Kyle Thompson |
(50) |
|
10,945 |
|
76-68-78-69--291 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 73. David Lutterus |
(49) |
|
10,670 |
|
75-69-74-74--292 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 74. Shane Bertsch |
(48) |
|
10,560 |
|
71-72-76-77--296 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 75. Todd Demsey |
(48) |
|
10,450 |
|
72-72-74-80--298 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 76. Reid Edstrom |
0 |
|
10,340 |
|
72-71-84-72--299 |
|
+ |
11 |
| • • • |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Missed the cut |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 77. J.P. Hayes |
|
|
|
|
72-73--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Richard S. Johnson |
|
|
|
|
73-72--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Paul Goydos |
|
|
|
|
73-72--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Neal Lancaster |
|
|
|
|
75-70--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Scott Dunlap |
|
|
|
|
70-75--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Billy Andrade |
|
|
|
|
75-70--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Grant Waite |
|
|
|
|
75-70--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Patrick Sheehan |
|
|
|
|
68-77--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Notah Begay III |
|
|
|
|
75-70--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. J.J. Henry |
|
|
|
|
72-73--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Glen Day |
|
|
|
|
74-71--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Jeff Overton |
|
|
|
|
74-71--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Brad Elder |
|
|
|
|
74-71--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Y.E. Yang |
|
|
|
|
71-74--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 77. Chris Stroud |
|
|
|
|
73-72--145 |
|
+ |
1 |
| 92. Scott McCarron |
|
|
|
|
70-76--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Tag Ridings |
|
|
|
|
72-74--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. John Riegger |
|
|
|
|
73-73--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Lucas Glover |
|
|
|
|
73-73--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Brad Adamonis |
|
|
|
|
73-73--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Travis Perkins |
|
|
|
|
73-73--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Brenden Pappas |
|
|
|
|
72-74--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Marco Dawson |
|
|
|
|
71-75--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 92. Carlos Franco |
|
|
|
|
73-73--146 |
|
+ |
2 |
| 101. Paul Stankowski |
|
|
|
|
73-74--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Martin Laird |
|
|
|
|
73-74--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Jimmy Walker |
|
|
|
|
78-69--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Scott Sterling |
|
|
|
|
75-72--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Jason Dufner |
|
|
|
|
75-72--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Michael Bradley |
|
|
|
|
72-75--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Olin Browne |
|
|
|
|
73-74--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Brent Geiberger |
|
|
|
|
71-76--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Paul Claxton |
|
|
|
|
73-74--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Jason Day |
|
|
|
|
76-71--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Ron Whittaker |
|
|
|
|
73-74--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 101. Roberto Castro |
|
|
|
|
74-73--147 |
|
+ |
3 |
| 113. Skip Kendall |
|
|
|
|
76-72--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Willie Wood |
|
|
|
|
75-73--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Dicky Pride |
|
|
|
|
78-70--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Jason Allred |
|
|
|
|
78-70--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Jason Gore |
|
|
|
|
68-80--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Spike McRoy |
|
|
|
|
74-74--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Kris Cox |
|
|
|
|
72-76--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Doug LaBelle II |
|
|
|
|
74-74--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 113. Jon Mills |
|
|
|
|
73-75--148 |
|
+ |
4 |
| 122. Harrison Frazar |
|
|
|
|
75-74--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 122. Mark Brooks |
|
|
|
|
75-74--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 122. Jose Coceres |
|
|
|
|
78-71--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 122. Brett Rumford |
|
|
|
|
73-76--149 |
|
+ |
5 |
| 126. Kevin Stadler |
|
|
|
|
77-73--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 126. Mathias Gronberg |
|
|
|
|
75-75--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 126. Tommy Gainey |
|
|
|
|
76-74--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 126. Steve Pate |
|
|
|
|
77-73--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 126. J.L. Lewis |
|
|
|
|
72-78--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 126. Garrett Willis |
|
|
|
|
75-75--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 126. Robert Gamez |
|
|
|
|
74-76--150 |
|
+ |
6 |
| 133. Greg Norman |
|
|
|
|
80-71--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 133. Jeff Hull |
|
|
|
|
77-74--151 |
|
+ |
7 |
| 135. Richard Johnson |
|
|
|
|
76-76--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 135. Jin Park |
|
|
|
|
77-75--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 135. Chad Collins |
|
|
|
|
77-75--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 135. Cody Freeman |
|
|
|
|
76-76--152 |
|
+ |
8 |
| 139. N. Thompson |
|
|
|
|
79-74--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 139. Ronnie Black |
|
|
|
|
77-76--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 139. Scott Parel |
|
|
|
|
78-75--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 139. Kelly Sellers |
|
|
|
|
76-77--153 |
|
+ |
9 |
| 143. Bob Burns |
|
|
|
|
77-77--154 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 143. Mike Heinen |
|
|
|
|
78-76--154 |
|
+ |
10 |
| 145. David Duval |
|
|
|
|
78-77--155 |
|
+ |
11 |
| 145. Steve Allan |
|
|
|
|
76-79--155 |
|
+ |
11 |
| 145. Alex Cejka |
|
|
|
|
77-78--155 |
|
+ |
11 |
| 148. Luke List |
|
|
|
|
79-80--159 |
|
+ |
15 |
| 149. Jim Gallagher, Jr. |
|
|
|
|
84-79--163 |
|
+ |
19 |
| 149. Doug Dvorak |
|
|
|
|
85-78--163 |
|
+ |
19 |
| WD. Kent Jones |
|
|
|
|
73-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Roland Thatcher |
|
|
|
|
78-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Michael Letzig |
|
|
|
|
79-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Charles Warren |
|
|
|
|
82-WD |
|
|
|
| WD. Franklin Langham |
|
|
|
|
WD |
|
|
|
| DQ. Ryan Armour |
|
|
|
|
DQ |
|
|
|
Posted: 5/18/2008
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