Golf | Martin Laird prevails in a 3-way playoff to earn his first PGA Tour victory

LAS VEGAS — The higher the stakes, the calmer Martin Laird became.

The 26-year-old Scot won the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating George McNeill with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff in the Fall Series event.

Laird closed with a 3-under-par 68 to match McNeill (67) and former UNLV player Chad Campbell (69) at 19-under 265 for 72 holes at TPC Summerlin.

Campbell was eliminated on the second extra hole.

"I don't know whether it was because I had a nice long par on 18 to get into the playoff," Laird said. "But when I got into the playoff, I was surprised; I kind of chilled out a little. I was pretty nervous the last two or three holes in regulation, and once I got there in the playoff I kind of relaxed a little more.

"And when I stood up there on the first playoff hole and struck the ball down the middle, it was the perfect way to start the playoff."

Laird, a former Colorado State player, earned $756,000 and a two-year Tour exemption for the breakthrough victory in his 53rd Tour start. He jumped from 134th to 62nd on the money list.

Three-time Las Vegas winner Jim Furyk (62) and Jeff Klauk (68) tied for fourth at 18 under, and former UNLV player Charley Hoffman (68) was next at 17 under.

Ex-UNLV player Ryan Moore (68) of Puyallup was among seven tied for seventh place at 16 under.

The group tied for 27th place at 12 under included Kyle Stanley (69) of Gig Harbor and Kirk Triplett (72), a graduate of Pullman High School.

Laird holed an 11-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th for the playoff victory over McNeill, the 2007 winner. Campbell exited with a bogey on the previous hole.

Other tournaments

• John Cook won the Administaff Small Business Classic in The Woodlands, Texas, for his third title on the 50-and-older Champions Tour. The 52-year-old Cook, an 11-time winner on the regular PGA Tour, closed with a 4-under 68 to hold off Jay Haas (71) and Bob Tway (70) by two shots. Cook finished at 11-under 205.

"I've had trouble finishing events," said Cook, who earned $255,000. "I was getting ahead of myself. Today, I just didn't do that."

• Chad Collins won the Miccosukee Championship for his second career Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 1-under 70 in windy conditions in Miami for a two-stroke victory in the final full-field event of the season. Collins, 31, had a 10-under 274 total and earned $112,500.

Won Joon Lee (71), Brian Smock (71) and Justin Smith (72) tied for second.

The top 25 players next week after the season-ending, 60-player Nationwide Tour Championship earn 2010 PGA Tour cards. Alex Prugh, a former Washington Huskies player from Spokane, is 14th in Nationwide Tour earnings and Jeff Gove of Seattle is 16th.

• Lee Westwood of England won the Portugal Masters for his first victory since September 2007, closing with a 6-under 66 in Vilamoura for a two-stroke victory over Francesco Molinari (70) of Italy. Westwood finished at 23-under 265.