Consistently hitting his approach shots close and remaining cool and collected on the tense final holes, rookie Troy Matteson shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday to win the Frys.com Open for his first PGA Tour victory.
Matteson, who had to complete the last six holes of the rain-delayed third round early in the morning before beginning the final round, held off Ben Crane and Daniel Chopra by one shot.
Coming into his own the past three weeks, Matteson finished at 22-under 265. Crane, a two-time winner on the tour, shot a 65, and Chopra, left looking for his first victory, had a 66.
The 26-year-old Matteson won twice last year on the Nationwide Tour and broke the developmental tour's money record with US$495,009. His initial tour win wrapped up a three-week stretch when he was edging toward the top, with a tie for eighth in Mississippi earlier this month, and a tie for sixth last week in Greensboro.
Playing in the final group with Chopra and nursing a one-shot lead, Matteson stuck his second shot on the 444-yard, par-4 18th within eight feet of the pin. After Chopra missed his birdie try from 18 feet, Matteson needed only to two-putt. He barely missed the first, then tapped in for the victory.
The three-time All-American from Georgia Tech smiled, raised his arms, then tipped his hat to acknowledge the applause from the gallery.
After a bogey at No. 13, Matteson eased away from a four-way tie at 20 under with birdies at Nos. 14 and 16. Crane, Frank Lickliter II and Charley Hoffman briefly were even with him at the top.
Lickliter shot a 64 to finish fourth at 20 under, and Hoffman had a 71 to tie for fifth at 19 under.
An early morning had stretched into early evening by the time Matteson finished the 24 holes he had to navigate on the final day.
Lighting on Friday afternoon and thunderstorms that night and into Saturday morning had put the tournament behind schedule. Matteson was among 45 players who had to complete their third rounds early Sunday morning before beginning the final 18 holes.
He was a total of 16 under through 12 holes Saturday when third-round play was halted because of darkness. He birdied three of the six remaining holes to finally complete that round with a 64 that put him 19 under when he began the final 18 holes shortly later.
Crane and Chopra were among those who were able to complete their third rounds on Saturday.
Jim Furyk, the champion in 1995, 1998 and 1999 and beaten by West Short Jr. on the second hole of a playoff last year, finished with a 66 to tie for 16th at 15 under.
Short, whose Las Vegas win is his only tour victory, struggled to a 74 on the final day this time and finished at 5 under.
Fred Couples and Woody Austin were disqualified for stopping play on Saturday evening before play was suspended by darkness. It was uncertain whether they thought the horn had blown ending play. Neither was in contention.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
