Merrick wins US PGA event in playoff

American John Merrick has upstaged a star-studded field to beat fellow unheralded countryman Charlie Beljan in a sudden-death playoff at the US PGA event at Riviera Country Club.

Merrick claimed his maiden PGA Tour win with a par on the second playoff hole, the short driveable par-four 10th, after Beljan was unable to recover from a wild tee shot.

Beljan had a chance to take the playoff to a third hole but slid a five-foot putt past the left edge to hand Merrick, a local Southern Californian, the win and a ticket to the Masters.

“Growing up here in LA, I just wanted to come to this tournament,” Merrick said. “Now to win it, this is a dream come true.”

Earlier, Beljan shot a final round four-under 67, including a final-hole birdie, to join Merrick (69) at 11-under-par 273 for the tournament.

Both men then parred the 18th to begin the playoff before Merrick prevailed.

Defending champion and overnight leader Bill Haas could have won the tournament with an even-par round but struggled to a 73 to finish one shot behind in a tie for third with Swede Fredrick Jacobson (69) and South African Charl Schwartzel (70).

Jacobson came to the last needing a par to join the playoff but badly pulled a five-foot putt to bogey and fall out of the running.

Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, had a 24-foot birdie chance to join the playoff but it slid by the hole.

Greg Chalmers (67) and Adam Scott (70) were the best of the Australians, five shots short of the playoff at six-under-par 278.

“It could have been better. My ball striking wasn’t up to its usual par and wasn’t as good a week as I’d liked it to have been,” Scott said.

Scott started with high hopes of replicating 2006 when he shot a 64 on the final day to surge into second spot but the 32-year-old’s claims were over early in proceedings.

After a birdie at the first Scott hit a wall at the fourth hole, going long on the par three and missing a nine-foot par putt.

His tournament hung in the balance on the fifth after a beautiful approach shot to nine-feet gave him a chance to wrestle back momentum but rather than capitalise with birdie the Queenslander three-putted for a dismal bogey.

“If I made birdie there I could have been really going,” Scott said.

“But it just fooled me. It was a bit slack of me not to have a better look at the angle of that green and it was more flat than uphill and I smacked it. The putter wasn’t hot today.”

Birdies on the seventh and 10th holes followed but another bogey on 11 ensured he’d stay well off the pace.

Another birdie on the 17th ensured he’d open his season with a top 10 finish.

Chalmers, who equalled the round of the day, opened his account with an eagle, holing out from the greenside bunker to really kick-start his challenge.

A bogey on the third was his only blemish and birdies at the eighth and 10th and 15th holes helped the 39-year-old to his first top 10 of the season.

It’s his first top-10 on the US Tour since August last year, which was his only top 10 of 2012.

Marc Leishman and Stuart Appleby struggled to final-round 77s to finish tied 61st and 68th respectively.

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