LAS VEGAS — Stuart Appleby birdied the first playoff hole at the Las Vegas Invitational on Sunday to beat Scott McCarron and get his first PGA Tour victory since 1999.
Appleby pumped his fist when he made the decisive 15-foot putt. McCarron had a chance to extend the playoff with a putt almost identical to Appleby's. However, his shot broke left and slid by the hole.
"As soon as I saw it, I thought I could make it," Appleby said. "As it was going to the hole, I thought, 'It's a little slow, a little left,' but it dropped in."
Appleby and McCarron were tied at 31-under 328 at the end of the tournament's 90 holes. Both missed birdie putts on 18 that could have won them the tournament in regulation — Appleby from about 16 feet and McCarron from about 12 feet.
Appleby, the leader going into the final round, shot a 3-under 69 Sunday at the TPC Summerlin course. The win was his first since the Houston Open four years ago.
McCarron closed with a 6-under 66. It was another tough loss for McCarron in a tournament where he has consistently played well. Two years ago he led by three shots going into the final round but finished tied for fourth after his caddie accidentally broke his driver the night before the final 18 holes.
SAMSUNG WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: At the Woodlands, Texas, Sophie Gustafson beat the best women golfers in the world and then overcame a dispute over a shot she never made to win the LPGA Samsung World Championship.
After a sparkling 6-under 64 Sunday, she endured a trip to a television network truck to review video of one of her putts. Then she carted back on the course to address another rules challenge before LPGA officials determined she had topped the field with her 14-under 274, two shots better than Rachel Teske and Beth Daniel.
KOREAN OPEN: At Seoul, John Daly won the Korean Open on Sunday, closing with a 4-under-par 68 for a one-stroke victory. Daly, a two-time major winner, captured his first title since the BMW International Open in Germany in 2001. He finished at 6-under 282. Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant (70) was at 283 and Scotland's Simon Yates (68) was at 284. LPGA star Laura Davies joined the tournament but missed the cut by four strokes.
DUTCH OPEN: At Hilversum, Netherlands, Maarten Lafeber became the first Dutchman to win the Dutch Open since 1947, finishing with a 3-under-par 67 Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Denmark's Soren Hansen (69) and Sweden's Mathias Gronberg (65).