LOS ANGELES (AFP) – American Chris Stroud won the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship on Sunday, beating Richy Werenski and Greg Owen in a three-man playoff.
Stroud posted an eagle on the final hole of regulation to get into the playoff and record his first win in 289 PGA Tour events.
‘‘To finally get one is unbelievable,’’ Stroud said. ‘‘I’ve putted with 15 different putters in the last two weeks and went back to an old one.’’ ‘‘The putts started going in, and that was the only difference this week.’’
Stroud, Werenski and England’s Owen finished with 44 points after regulation of the event at the Montreaux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada.
The tournament used the Modified Stableford system. Rather than counting the total number of strokes taken, as in stroke play, Stableford scoring involves scoring points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole. The format awards eight points for an albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, and subtracts a point for a bogey and three for double bogey or worse.
Stroud scored a tournament-best 20 points in the final round of the event. He carded an eagle, nine birdies and three bogeys in his 18 holes on Sunday.