Philadelphia, PA – PGA TOUR - NORTHERN TRUST OPEN, Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, California -- Bill Haas scrambled to a birdie on the second extra hole to beat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley for his fourth PGA Tour title.
Mickelson and Bradley had birdied the 18th in regulation from 28 and 13 feet respectively to force the extra session. The trio returned to the 18th for the first playoff hole, and all three made par.
They shifted to the drivable par-4 10th. Mickelson found the rough right of the green and Bradley dumped his in a sand trap near Mickelson's ball. Haas hit his drive left into the rough and near some trees.
With a clear shot to the green, but a terrible lie in the rough, Haas chipped on. However, he was still 43 feet from the hole. Mickelson tried for a miracle shot and ended in another sand trap. Bradley's pitch shot ended 10 feet from the hole.
Haas then poured in his birdie putt to put the pressure on. Mickelson could do no better than hit his third to eight feet. Bradley's birdie effort to extend the playoff narrowly missed and the title went to Haas.
Mickelson won this title in 2008 and 2009 after finishing second in 2007. He was the seventh player to win this crown two times.
Golf Channel will have coverage all four days. Their coverage on Saturday and Sunday will be early, before they hand off to CBS for the rest of the round.
The PGA Tour heads back to Arizona next week for the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship, where Hunter Mahan beat Rory McIlroy, 2 & 1, in the final match last year.
EUROPEAN TOUR
AFRICA OPEN, East London Golf Club, East London, South Africa -- Louis Oosthuizen was on fire last year at the Africa Open. He opened with a 4-under 69 on the par-73 East London Golf Club and it got better from there.
The former British Open champion fired an 11-under 62 in round two and followed with 67s in the third and final rounds to finish at 27-under par, good for a 2-stroke win.
Oosthuizen set the tournament scoring record with his total of 265. He was the first player in the event's brief five-year history to repeat as champion.
The South African was in a battle in the final round with Tjaart van der Walt. The duo was tied on the 17th hole, but Oosthuizen poured in a 30-footer for birdie as van der Walt tripped to a bogey to slide two back.
After a final-round 69, van der Walt took second place, but remained winless on the European Tour.
Oosthuizen is not defending his title this week. That leaves Robert Rock and Ricardo Santos among the top-ranked players in the field.
Golf Channel will have all four rounds.
The European Tour joins the PGA Tour next week for the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship, as the top-64 players in the world battle it out. The tour returns to South Africa the following week with a new event, the Tshwane Open.
LPGA TOUR
ISPS HANDA WOMEN'S AUSTRALIAN OPEN, Yarralumla, Australia -- For the second straight year, the LPGA Tour kicks off its' season with the Women's Australian Open.
Last year, Jessica Korda birdied the second playoff to defeat five other players and win her first LPGA Tour title.
The 18-year-old led by one at the start of the final round, but closed with a 1-over 74 to slip to 3-under 289. She was joined there by Stacy Lewis, who shot 70 in the final round, as well as Brittany Lincicome and Julieta Granada, who both carded 71s in the final round, along with Hee Kyung Seo and So Yeon Ryu, who posted even-par 73s in the final round.
Korda had to birdie the 17th in regulation to gain her spot in the playoff, then all six made par on the first extra hole. Korda drained a 25-footer for birdie and the win the second time around.
Her father, former tennis star Petr Korda, won the tennis version of the Australian Open in 1998.
Korda returns to defend her title against a field that includes four of the top-10 players in the world, along with 15-year-old sensation Lydia Ko.
Ko, who is still an amateur, won her third professional event on Sunday in her home country of New Zealand.
Golf Channel will have tape-delayed action all week.
The LPGA shifts to Thailand next week for the Honda LPGA Thailand, where Yani Tseng birdied the final two holes last year to win by 1-shot over Ai Miyazato.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
ACE GROUP CLASSIC, TwinEagles Golf Club (Talon Course), Naples, Florida -- Kenny Perry went low the first two rounds last year, then held on to beat 2011 champion Bernhard Langer at the Ace Group Classic.
Perry fired a 10-under 62 in the second round, but missed the course record by a stroke. After closing with a 2-under 70, he matched Langer's tournament scoring record of 196.
The win was Perry's second on the Champions Tour. He has opened the season with a pair of top-20 finishes.
The season's first two winners -- John Cook and Rocco Mediate -- will both be in the field this week. That duo has posted matching winning totals of 17- under 199.
Golf Channel has coverage of all three rounds.
The Champions Tour will take a month off before returning March 15-17 with the Toshiba Classic, which Loren Roberts won by two strokes last year.
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