Kaymer tops Watson in playoff to win PGA Grand Slam

Southampton, Bermuda (SportsNetwork.com) - Martin Kaymer poured in his 7-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Wednesday to defeat Bubba Watson and win his first PGA Grand Slam of Golf title.

Kaymer, the first-round leader who won the U.S. Open earlier this year, fired an even-par 71 on Wednesday, while Watson carded a 2-under 69. The duo finished regulation play at 6-under-par 136.

It was a back and forth day between Kaymer and Watson, both of whom held the outright lead at one point. After finishing 36 holes deadlocked at minus-6, Kaymer and Watson headed back to the 18th tee for the first playoff hole.

Both of them hit perfect tee shots into the middle of the fairway, with Kaymer's drive traveling slightly further than Watson's. The approach shots were equally as impressive. Watson put the pressure on when he knocked his shot to within five feet, but Kaymer came through as well with an approach to about seven feet.

With Kaymer putting first, he drained his 7-footer, and all of a sudden the pressure was on Watson. The two-time Masters champion just missed his putt off the left edge and the title was Kaymer's.

"My putt, it was quite an advantage that I had the similar putt earlier, just a little bit longer, but pretty much the same line and I knew it didn't break as much as I thought," said Kaymer. "So that helped me a lot. It was a good stroke and so it went in. But I was surprised about (Watson), obviously, you don't want to win a golf tournament that way. Of course I would take it, but you don't really want the other guy missing a short putt."

Open champion and PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy struggled on his way to a 4-over 75 on Wednesday and he finished alone in third at 2-over 144. Jim Furyk, the 2008 winner of this event, shot a 2-over 73 en route to a 3-over 145.

Leading by two over Watson to start the day, Kaymer birdied the par-5 second at Port Royal Golf Course, getting him to minus-7 and extending his lead to three shots. It remained that way for the next four holes as Watson opened up with six straight pars.

Both Kaymer and Watson traded birdies on No. 7, keeping Kaymer's lead at three. Watson cut that lead to two with his second straight birdie on No. 8, and Kaymer followed that up with his first bogey on No. 9.

All of a sudden, as the players began their back nine, Kaymer's advantage had been cut to one. Then Kaymer dropped his second consecutive shot with a bogey on No. 10 and he was even with Watson at minus-6.

Watson fell back to even par for the day when he too made back-to-back bogeys on 11 and 12, while Kaymer made a birdie at the 13 to again stretch his lead to three. Kaymer bogeyed his third hole on No. 13 and Watson drained a pair of birdies on 14 and 15 to pull even with Kaymer yet again.

The 35-year-old Watson made it three straight birdies with a gain on No. 16, while Kaymer made his fourth bogey on the same hole. It seemed as if Watson was going to run away with the title as he headed to the 17th with a 2-shot advantage.

Another 2-shot swing came on No. 17, however, when Kaymer poured in a birdie and Watson tripped to a bogey at the par-5. They both missed birdie putts at the last to force a playoff.

"Martin played great for two days," Watson said. "Somehow, I made that run of birdies on some tough holes in tough, windy conditions. So really, when you think about it, Martin played the best all week, putted well. Hit a lot of solid shots. He didn't really hit too many wayward shots and came away as the champion."

McIlroy, already four shots back to start the day, was never much of factor on Wednesday as he tripped to five bogeys, a double-bogey and managed just three birdies.

Furyk, who shot a 1-over 72 on day one, had two bogeys, a double-bogey and two birdies in his final round.

NOTES: Kaymer qualified for this event back in 2010 when he won the PGA Championship ... Watson finished tied for third at this event in 2012 after winning his first Masters title ... Furyk's lone major championship was a U.S. Open victory in 2003. He received an invite to play this week after McIlroy won two major titles this year ... Adam Scott, the winner here last year, received the original invite, but he was unable to play due to a scheduling conflict.