Stallings Wins Greenbriar Classic

PGA TOUR rookie Scott Stallings carded a 1-under 69 on Sunday and then birdied the first extra hole to defeat Bill Haas and PGA TOUR veteran Bob Estes to win The Greenbrier Classic. With the win Stallings earns 500 FedExCup points and moves from No. 88 to No. 26 in the point standings.  Stallings, the 10th first-time winner this season, is the sixth rookie winner (the most on TOUR dating to 1970).  Other rookie winners in 2011 include Jhonattan Vegas, Charl Schwartzel, Brendan Steele, Keegan Bradley and Chris Kirk.  With the victory, Stallings earns a ticket into next week’s World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.  The playoff on Sunday, the first of Stallings’ career, was the 13th of the season on the PGA TOUR.  Stallings, at the age of 26 years, 4 months and 6 days, is the 12th winner under the age of 30 this season. Last year, there were 16 winners in their 20s.

Bill Haas finished runner-up for the third time in his career (2011 Bob Hope Classic, 2011 Greenbrier Classic, 2010 McGladrey Classic). With two runner-up finishes, Haas currently sits No. 12 in the FedExCup standings.  Haas was hoping to become just the sixth player under the age of 30 with three or more wins on the PGA TOUR: Dustin Johnson (4), Sean O’Hair (4), Anthony Kim (3), Hunter Mahan (3) and Camilo Villegas (3).  Haas is now 0-2 in playoffs (2011 Bob Hope Classic, 2011 Greenbrier Classic).

Bob Estes’ runner-up finish is his best showing since a second-place finish at the

2006 Reno-Tahoe Open.  Estes, who has fully recovered from recent wrist injuries, is now 0-4 in playoffs on the PGA TOUR.  Bob Estes finished runner-up for his first top 10 in seven starts in 2011. The four-time PGA TOUR winner has at least one top-10 finish in each of his 23 seasons since his first full season in 1989 (86 total).  Estes’ previous-best finish in 2011 was a 73rd place finish at the Valero Texas Open. He entered the week with five consecutive missed cuts.  Estes’ 64 on Sunday fell just one stroke shy of his career-low final round – a fifth-round 63 in winning the 2001 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Former Virginia Tech standout Brendon de Jonge carded a 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish T4. He barely missed making the playoff, missing a 5-foot, 7-inch putt for birdie on the par-3 18th hole.  Dating to the John Deere Classic, Brendon de Jonge has turned in 10 under-par scores out of his last 12 rounds. At the John Deere Classic, rounds of 66-66-63-74 (15-under) led to a T7 finish. Rounds of 65-70-68-68 (17-under) led to a T13 finish at the Viking Classic. He made his way around The Old White TPC this week with rounds of 66-67-72-66 (9-under) to finish T4.

Webb Simpson (T9) has been one of the most consistent players on TOUR this year. In 18 starts, he has missed just two cuts (Farmers Insurance Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational) and amassed 14 top-25 finishes, including two runner-up finishes (Transitions Championship, Zurich Classic of New Orleans). Simpson sits No. 9 in the FedExCup standings.

Leaderboard:

Scott Stallings 70-65-66-69—270 (-10)*
Bob Estes 69-72-65-64—270 (-10)
Bill Haas 71-67-65-67—270 (-10)
Andres Romero 71-69-66-65—271 (-9)
Brendon de Jonge 66-67-72-66—271 (-9)
Cameron Tringale 70-67-67-67—271 (-9)
Jimmy Walker 69-72-62-68—271 (-9)
Gary Woodland 65-70-67-69—271 (-9)
* won with a birdie-2 on the first playoff hole

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