Monday 2 March 2015 19:37, UK
Padraig Harrington overturned a four-shot final day deficit to snatch a dramatic victory at the second play-off hole of a rain-delayed Honda Classic.
After bad weather had forced the tournament into a fifth day, Harrington, without a PGA Tour title since a two-stroke win at the 2008 PGA Championship, sank a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th to finish level on six-under with rookie Daniel Berger and force a play-off.
The pair both two-putted the first extra hole at the 18th for par, before Harrington nailed his tee-shot at the 17th to within five-feet of the hole as Berger found the hazard. With the American only able to double-bogey, Harrington took two attempts from five feet to end his title drought and book his ticket to next month's Masters.
Earlier, Harrington had struck four birdies in a row to move in to the clubhouse lead, missing a 10-foot putt at the 15th for a fifth successive gain. The Irishman had lost his advantage with a double-bogey at the penultimate hole when his tee-shot flew into the water hazard, but recovered at the last.
While overnight leaders Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, who found the water five times during his final round, joined Patrick Reed in faltering on Monday, Berger, nine shots adrift after the third round, fired back-to-back birdies to close with an impressive six-under 64.
Poulter problems
Poulter, searching for a first stroke-play win in America, opened the day by rolling in a birdie at the 8th before missing an 11-foot putt for a further gain at the following hole.
Reaching the turn two clear, the world No 36 opened up the top of the leaderboard with a double-bogey at the 11th, finding the water with his second shot and then two-putting from 15-feet.
The Englishman was unfortunate again at the 13th when, from 120 yards, his second shot from the fairway bunker rattled the flag and spun away, with the resulting 15-foot birdie putt rolling alongside the hole.
Things went from bad to worse for Poulter at the next when, after taking a drop out of water following a wayward tee-shot, his third shot from the dirt ricocheting off a palm tree and ended back in the lake. After seeing his fifth shot fall in to a deep bunker, Poulter had to settle for triple-bogey.
With others faltering around him, Poulter ended positively with back-to-back birdies to end tied-third alongside British duo Russell Knox and Paul Casey.
Overnight joint-leader Casey picked up an early birdie at the ninth, before dropping shots with an eight-foot missed putt at 11 and a tee-shot into a bunker at 14. Needing to pick up a stroke at the 18th to move joint-leader, Casey played his third shot out of the bunker to within 20-feet of the hole but saw his birdie-putt slow up inches short.
Despite carding three bogeys in his final round, Knox ended strongly to post a two-under 68, while Jamie Donaldson made three late gains to finish a further shot back, with a three-putt from 50-feet at the 16th his only blemish.
Reed was tied-leader at various points during the fifth day, but collapsed as the dreaded Bear Trap as he dropped four strokes in three holes to end tied-seventh alongside compatriots Jim Herman and Jeff Overton and England's Luke Donald.
