GOLF/US TOUR WELLS FARGO CHAMPIONSHIP:LUCAS GLOVER beat Jonathan Byrd in a play-off to claim victory in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte on Sunday.
The American held his nerve with a par four on the only extra hole needed to see off his close friend and win his first tournament since his 2009 US Open triumph.
The players had been tied at 15 under at the end of play. Glover – who had started the day in joint-third – sank four birdies and an eagle on the par-five 10th to climb the leaderboard with a final round of 69.
Overnight leader Byrd could only manage a level-par 72 in his final round, but a 14-foot putt on the 18th hole secured one of four birdies on his scorecard and allowed him to pull level with Glover.
The players returned to the 18th to begin the play-off, but Byrd put his drive into the bunker while Glover found the green with little effort, closing out for victory with a two-foot putt.
“Im absolutely elated, especially here,” Glover (31) said. “Against this field, on this course and in a tournament of this magnitude, I’m thrilled.”
Rory Sabbatini impressed with a blemish-free seven-under 65 on the final day to finish third on 14-under overall, one shot ahead of local boy Bill Haas, who rounded off his tournament with a two-under 70. Kevin Na claimed a fifth-placed finish with a final round of 71, with Zach Johnson, Bobby Gates and Pat Perez tied for sixth on 11 under.
Pádraig Harrington was the leading European, joining Phil Mickelson on 10 under for the tournament and a share of ninth place.
(USA unless stated, par 72)
273 Lucas Glover 67 68 69 69 (Lucas Glover won in the play-off at first extra hole ), Jonathan Byrd 66 68 67 72
274 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 72 71 66 65
275 Bill Haas 64 70 71 70
276 Kevin Na 69 69 67 71
277 Pat Perez 67 65 70 75, Zach Johnson 73 69 67 68, Bobby Gates 69 70 69 69
278 Phil Mickelson 69 66 74 69, J.B. Holmes 70 72 65 71, Vijay Singh (Fij) 68 68 73 69, Robert Garrigus 72 67 70 69, Stewart Cink 71 65 68 74, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 68 68 72 70, Pádraig Harrington (Irl) 69 72 69 68
279 Brian Davis (Eng) 70 67 69 73, Hunter Mahan 72 70 67 70, Andres Romero (Arg) 71 67 67 74, Davis Love III 70 69 68 72, Rickie Fowler 68 72 68 71
280 Steve Marino 70 67 71 72, Matthew Jones (Aus) 70 69 69 72, Webb Simpson 70 67 74 69
281 Tim Herron 70 69 73 69, Jim Furyk 72 72 69 68, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 73 70 71 67, David Toms 66 72 71 72
282 Justin Rose (Eng) 71 73 69 69, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 69 69 74 70, Tag Ridings 71 69 73 69, Steven Bowditch (Aus) 71 68 72 71, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 71 71 68 .
