UNLV’s Adam Scott wins Byron Nelson

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

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 beat Ryan Moore in the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.

The playoff was a battle between former UNLV golfers. Scott, from Australia, played 11/2 seasons for the Rebels from 1998 to 2002, and Moore of Puyallup, Wash., became the most decorated player in UNLV history from 2001 to 2005. He was a four-time All-American, won the U.S. Amateur in 2004 and was voted national player of the year as a senior.

But Sunday, the trophy and the winner's check of $1,152,000 belonged to Scott.

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

Still, Scott made the clutch shots when he needed them for his sixth PGA Tour victory after cutting short his post-Masters trip home to Australia so not to waste his good play there.

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," said Scott, the highest-ranked player in the Nelson field, at No. 10. "A bit lucky."

Moore still had a chance to force another hole, but his pin-high putt from the fringe skimmed just past the cup. He won $691,200.

"I'm just a little frustrated I didn't make mine," said Moore, who closed with a 2-under 68 to match Scott (71) at 7-under 273.

The playoff was a fitting end after a back-and-forth duel between Scott and Moore, who finished four shots ahead of Bart Bryant (72). Nicholas Thompson (67), Mark Hensby (69) and Carl Pettersson (69) tied for fourth at 2 under.

Charley Hoffman, another former UNLV player (1995 to 1999), was another shot back at 279 and made $179,733.

It was the fourth career runner-up finish for Moore, the first player since Tiger Woods to skip Q-school and go straight from college to the PGA Tour. Woods got his first victory in his seventh start as a pro, while Moore is still looking for his first after 70 tournaments since 2005.

"A loss is a loss, but I tied for first at the end of the day," said Moore, who had never been in a playoff. "I was just proud of myself for battling around on a tough day in tough conditions.'"

Playing conditions at the redesigned TPC Four Seasons changed drastically again after overnight rain combined with blustery conditions Sunday. It was an unseasonable cool day with temperatures barely reaching 60 degrees, with wind gusting to 30 mph making it feel cooler -- and making club selection harder.

The winning score was the highest since the Nelson moved to the Las Colinas venue in 1983. Only three other times had a winner failed to finish at least 10 under par, and two of those were in rain-shortened tournaments.

The playoff started with both players making pars, first at No. 18 and then at the TPC Four Seasons' signature par 3, the 198-yard 17th hole, where Moore had taken a one-stroke lead in regulation by curling in a 12-foot birdie putt.

Scott missed opportunities to win on each of the first two playoff holes, leaving makable birdie putts short both times.

Moore's tee shot to start the playoff went way right into the gallery, but he made a great save to the green and was able to two-putt for par.

When they were back to 17, Scott went for the flag tucked in the right front of the green beyond the lake, and landed the ball about 10 feet from the cup. Moore was well left off the fringe, near the same area where Scott was in regulation, but both two-putted, sending them to 18 again.

Moore played for only the third time in 10 weeks, having taken some extra time off this spring instead of continuing to play through the pain of a sore shoulder and surgically repaired left hand still bothering him two years later. He opened with a 67 for a share of the lead.

"After this week, I'm looking forward to the rest of the season," Moore said.