Golf | Puyallup's Ryan Moore loses to Scott in playoff

IRVING, Texas — Australian golfer Adam Scott felt he needed to make a statement by winning Sunday. He did, though not quite the way he wanted to do it.

After blowing the three-stroke lead he carried into the final round, Scott made a 9-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to force a playoff, then made a 48-footer playing it again on the third playoff hole to defeat Ryan Moore of Puyallup in the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

The 25-year-old Moore, ranked 119th in the world, was seeking his first PGA Tour victory. He has finished second four times, including ties.

After the 10th-ranked Scott made his long putt, Moore had a chance to extend the sudden-death playoff.

But Moore's pin-high attempt from the fringe skimmed past the cup.

"I'm just a little frustrated I didn't make mine," Moore said. "That's really all there is to it. You expect a guy like that to make a putt in that type of situation, and I was sitting there expecting it."

Moore closed with a 2-under-par 68 to match Scott (71) at 7-under 273 for 72 holes at the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas.

Moore made $691,200. Scott, 27, earned $1.152 million for his sixth Tour victory.

Both played at UNLV, though their college careers did not overlap.

As for the statement Scott mentioned, he said, "In the end, I think [the statement] was to myself, I could actually win it when things weren't going my way. But it wasn't quite the statement I had in mind. I would have liked to have gone out there and have played like Ryan played and won by a few."

Nevertheless, Scott made clutch shots when he needed them.

Playing the 18th hole for the third time in less than an hour, the second time in the playoff, Scott hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker to the right. But he got his approach to the front of the green, then rolled the putt over two ridges and into the cup.

"I got away with one today," Scott said. "A bit lucky."

The playoff was a fitting end after a back-and-forth duel between Scott and Moore, who finished four strokes in front of third-place Bart Bryant (72).

Jeff Gove (70) of Seattle tied for 13th place at 280 and earned $113,067.

Moore was the first player since Tiger Woods, who is No. 1 in the world, to skip qualifying school and go straight from college to the PGA Tour.

Wind gusts to 30 mph made club selection difficult during the final round.

"A loss is a loss, but I tied for first at the end of the day," said Moore, who had not previously been in a Tour playoff. "That's better than I've ever done. You know, I was just proud of myself for battling around on a tough day in tough conditions."