Tennessee play-off hands Frazar first win

Harrison Frazar claimed his maiden PGA Tour win and inflicted play-off heartbreak on Robert Karlsson for the second consecutive year at the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis.

Frazar, who turns 40 next month, won for the first time in 355 attempts on the fourth play-off hole when Karlsson failed to match his par.

The American looked as though he may have spurned his chance for his breakthrough success when he bogeyed the last, after finding the water with his approach, to finish level with overnight-leader Karlsson on 13 under.

That gave Karlsson a second chance but like last year, when he lost out to world number two Lee Westwood in a play-off, the 41-year-old Swede failed to take it.

Victory for Frazar was made sweeter after he had been on the cusp of losing his Tour card, while it also ensured his first-ever appearance at Augusta for The Masters next year.

“I never thought it would happen,” he said in an interview on Sky Sport 2.

“The last few years have been really tough. I thank my family and friends who have always believed in me.”

The final pairing had never been separated by more than a single stroke throughout an absorbing final-round battle.

They were deadlocked going down the penultimate hole, after Frazar had shown nerves on the 16th, when he badly pulled a five-foot putt well wide to the left.

But after they had traded five consecutive pars it was Karlsson who made the first major error when he sprayed his tee-shot at 17 before carding a bogey to go to the last behind for the first time in the round.

With his breakthrough success in sight Frazar initially looked composed when he drove down the middle of the 18th, but then left his approach short and it rolled into the water.

Karlsson made heavy work of getting his required par to ensure the play-off, smashing his six-foot putt into the cup, but after the reprieve he again ended up on the wrong end in sudden death.

Camilio Villegas shot a final-round best six-under 64 to finish in a tie for third place with four other players.

Retief Goosen, Charles Howell III, Ryuji Imada and Tim Herron were the others tied with the Colombian on eight under.

Defending champion and world number two Westwood produced his best round of the week, a four-under 66, to finish in a tie for 11th on six under.