Sunday’s two-hole playoff between winner Jason Dufner and Ernie Els in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was another good finish in a PGA Tour season full of them. The list is so competitive that victories by Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods didn’t make the cut: 5. Transitions (Luke Donald) » In a four-man playoff, Donald won with a birdie on the first playoff hole, defeating Jim Furyk, Robert Garrigus and Sang-Moon Bae and regaining his status as the top-ranked player in the world.
4. Mayacoba (John Huh) » In his fifth PGA Tour event, Huh outlasted veteran Robert Allenby in an eight-hole playoff that matched the second longest in PGA Tour history. Huh, 21, shot a final-round 65 but still needed a double-bogey by Allenby on the 72nd hole to tie.
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3. Phoenix Open (Kyle Stanley) » A week after blowing a seven-shot lead, making a triple-bogey 8 on the 72nd hole and losing in a playoff at Torrey Pines, Stanley rebounded with a similarly improbable win, coming from eight strokes back to win by a shot.
2. Honda Classic (Rory McIlroy) » In the final round, Woods closed with a brilliant 62, whittling a nine-stroke deficit to two. But McIlroy, 22, held him off and moved to the top spot in the world rankings, becoming the second youngest (after Woods) to do so.
1. Masters (Bubba Watson) » Watson’s amazing recovery shot from deep in the woods on the second playoff hole landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the title, “A New Folk Hero.”
– Kevin Dunleavy
