Date: July 22, 2013
Author: Omnisport

Austin triumphs in Madison

Woody Austin clinched his first PGA Tour win in six years with a play-off victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday. The 49-year-old American holed an eight-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole, beating countrymen Cameron Beckman and Daniel Summerhays at the Annandale Golf Club in Madison. The win was Austin&aposs fourth on the PGA Tour, with two of his previous three also coming in play-offs, after he made the cut on the tour for the first time in 2013. Austin also became the oldest winner on the tour since Fred Funk, then 50, won in 2007. Beckham and Austin carded final-round five-under 67s to finish alongside Summerhays (69) at 20 under. Summerhays, who shared the overnight lead, failed to close out a tournament for the second straight week after he finished tied for fourth at the John Deere Classic on July 14. He managed a top-10 finish at The Greenbrier Classic a week earlier but any chance he had of winning the play-off in Mississippi disappeared when he hit his tee shot into the bunker and second into the water. Beckman missed a five-foot birdie putt which would have forced a second play-off hole, giving Austin a drought-breaking victory. Nicholas Thompson was alongside Summerhays at the top of the leaderboard to start the final round but carded a 71 to finish fourth at 18 under. Billy Andrade shot a seven-under 65 to end up alongside Kyle Reifers in a tie for fifth at 17 under on a leaderboard dominated by Americans. Australians Steven Bowditch, Peter Lonard and Stuart Appleby all enjoyed strong showings to tie for 17th at 13 under. Cameron Percy and Scott Gardiner (both 11 under), Andre Stolz (nine under), Greg Chalmers (seven under), Nathan Green (four under) and Nick O&aposHern (even par) were the others to make the cut.