Faxon’s Eagle Forces Playoff, Furyk Wins It

Jim Furyk, forced to a playoff when Brad Faxon eagled the last hole of regulation with a 45-foot eagle putt, won the Hawaiian Open in Honolulu on Sunday with a birdie on the third extra hole.

Furyk, who started the day in third place behind co-leaders Faxon and Steve Stricker, was tied with Stricker from the 10th through 17th holes.

That’s when Faxon jolted the gallery with his spectacular eagle putt, vaulting him into the lead at 11-under 277.

Needing a birdie to tie, Stricker missed a 15-footer.

Furyk two-putted from 25 feet for a birdie, creating the tournament’s first playoff since 1987.

The third playoff hole--the 551-yard 18th--had treated Furyk well. In the four rounds, he had two eagles, a birdie and a par, saving him five strokes. In the playoff, his birdie came on a four-foot putt.

Stricker’s 10-under 278 was good for third place.

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With Isao Aoki’s final round reduced to wreckage, Jack Nicklaus shot a four-under-par 67 to win the Senior PGA Tour’s GTE Suncoast Classic at Lutz, Fla.

Aoki, who began the day with a five-stroke lead over Nicklaus, gave it all away with a nine on the par-four 13th hole, and shot 77 to open the door for Nicklaus’ ninth career Senior Tour title.

Nicklaus finished with a two-under 211, to edge J.C. Snead, who finished at 212 after a closing 65.

Bob Murphy, who took a triple-bogey eight on the seventh hole when his blast from a bunker caught the lip and bounced back to hit his hat for a two-stroke penalty, finished third two shots back after a closing 69. Aoki finished three over to tie for eighth.

On the 13th hole, Aoki’s hooked his tee shot into water. After taking a drop, he left his approach short, then hit three wedges back and forth over the green before finally getting his fourth chip on and two putting.

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Craig Parry shot a two-under 71 to win the Australian Masters at Melbourne for the third time in five years. Parry, with a 13-under 279, finished two strokes ahead of Bradley Hughes, who bogeyed the last two holes and shot a 73.