Bubba Watson captured the Travelers Championship on Sunday and qualified for the British Open in the process, but it took two extra holes before he was able to hoist the trophy.
CROMWELL, Conn. — Bubba Watson made an 8-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to outlast Paul Casey and win the Travelers Championship for the second time.
Casey overcame a three-stroke deficit with five to play, tying Watson at 16-under 264.
But Casey lost his chance at the title while playing the par-4 18th for the third time, when his third shot from a greenside bunker flew over the green and landed on the cart path.
Watson, meanwhile, hit his 160-yard approach just to the right of the hole.
“I hung on, and that’s what you have to do sometimes to win,” Watson said.
Watson had a chance to win in regulation but bogeyed the 17th, while Casey closed with three birdies on the final five holes, sandwiched around a bogey on 15.
Watson finished with a 67 at TPC River Highlands, and Casey shot 65.
“There are always ifs and buts and couldhaves,” Casey said. “But the goal was to give myself a chance to win, and I did that.”
Brian Harman, who had a one-stroke lead after 54 holes, had a 69 to finish a stroke out of the playoff. After 39 straight holes without a bogey, he had back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 to fall two strokes behind Watson. His birdies on the final two holes were not enough to catch Casey and Watson.
But the finish assured Watson a spot in the British Open, along with Canadian Graham DeLaet, who finished two shots back, Carl Pettersson who finished fifth at 13 under, and Luke Donald, who tied for seventh at 11 under.
“I’ve been thinking about that tournament for a long time and really trying ... to get in there,” Harman said. “This one burns a little bit, but that definitely helps the sting.”
The Travelers was the first of three PGA Tour events at which finishers not already exempt can get into St. Andrew’s. There are four spots available at The Greenbrier Classic and one at the John Deere Classic.
OTHER EVENTS
USGA Senior Open at Sacramento, Calif.: Jeff Maggert earned his second major victory on the Champions Tour this year.
Maggert shot a 5-under 65 at sun-drenched Del Paso Country Club, edging defending champion Colin Montgomerie by two strokes. Maggert made six birdies and one bogey to finish at 10-under 270.
The 51-year-old American won his first senior major last month in Alabama in the Regions Tradition. His only other Champions Tour victory came in Mississippi last year.
“It’s satisfying just because the guys out here on the Champions Tour are the same guys that I was trying to beat 20 years ago,” Maggert said.
Montgomerie closed with a 66. Grant Waite and Bernhard Langer tied for third at 7 under. Waite had a 67, and Langer, who shared the lead with Maggert after three rounds, shot a 68.
Tom Watson, 65, missed his chance to become the oldest winner of a senior major. He started one off the lead but was never a factor, shooting a 69.
LPGA Walmart NW Arkansas Championship at Rogers, Ark.: Na Yeon Choi eagled the par-4 16th hole from the fairway to take the lead and won her ninth LPGA Tour title by two strokes.
Choi closed with a 2-under 69 to finish at 15-under 198 at Pinnacle Country Club.
Choi’s 8-iron from 142 yards on the 16th onehopped into the hole to give her a one-shot lead over former Arkansas player Stacy Lewis, the defending champion and local favorite. The South Korean followed with another 8-iron to a foot on the par-3 17th and closed with a par.
Mika Miyazato finished second at 13 under after a 67. Lewis bogeyed the par5 18th for a 68 that left her tied for third with Azahara Munoz (66) and Anna Nordqvist (70) at 12 under.