Cromwell, Conn. – Brad Faxon’s persistence at the Buick Championship finally paid off.
He rolled in a 3-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Sunday, and beat South African Tjaart van der Walt for his first victory since 2001.
Faxon tied the course record in regulation with a 9-under-par 61, a personal best for the 44-year-old. He stayed close to home for his eighth PGA Tour victory, earning a $774,000 paycheck.
The Rhode Islander has been a mainstay at this New England tournament, appearing 22 times. His best finish had been an eighth in 1996.
“People get excited about this tournament and I love playing close to home,” Faxon said. “Nobody on tour would ever tell you anything differently.”
Van der Walt shot a 64 on Sunday and birdied the final two holes to tie Faxon at 14-under 266 and force a playoff back to the 434-yard par-4 18th.
Third-rounder leader Justin Rose (69) finished one stroke out of the playoff, while former British Open champion Ben Curtis (69), Jerry Kelly (66) and NCAA runner-up Michael Putnam (63) were at 12-under.
Rose, who began the day with a four-stroke lead at 12-under, didn’t make a move until late in the day. He birdied two of the last four holes.
“I knew I had to go out and play a good round and make it mine,” Rose said. “Guys are shooting 61 and 64 from behind you, so I needed to keep it moving forward.”
Faxon thought he would be home sooner than later earlier in the tournament. He made the 36-hole cut on the number.
“This was really kind of out of the blue,” he said. “The first two days I played OK. Then something happened (Saturday) where all the putts started going in.”
On Sunday, not only did his putts fall but he took advantage of a couple of favorable rulings to save par on the last two holes.
When his tee shot on No. 17 rolled about 40 yards down a cart path and damaged the ball, Faxon got to pull out a new ball and place his drop.
On the playoff hole both hit great second shots.
Faxon drove into the left fairway bunker and had 169 yards to the hole and stuck his 7-iron approach 3 feet from the cup. Van der Walt, unflappable all during the event at the TPC at River Highlands, drove it right down the middle to within 134 yards. His approach banged off the flagstick and rolled about 9 feet from the cup. The players high-fived each other as they walked up the 18th fairway to an ovation.
Van der Walt pushed his birdie putt right then stood back and watched as Faxon coolly rolled his in for the win.
