MADISON, Mississippi (AFP) — Will MacKenzie birdied the second hole of a playoff against two others to capture the 3.6 million dollar PGA Viking Classic.
MacKenzie, Brian Gay and rookie Marc Turnesa finished with a 19-under-par 269 heading into the playoff, with MacKenzie and Gay each posting four-under 68 in the final round on Sunday.
"We came here to win, and we won," MacKenzie said. "A win is huge out here."
Turnesa blew a three-shot lead on the back nine Sunday, forcing the three-way playoff and allowing MacKenzie to secure his second career win and the 648,000 dollars in first place prize money at the Annandale Golf Club.
Turnesa stumbled down the stretch, double bogeying the par-four 17th hole en route to a two-under-par 70 in the fourth round.
A PGA Tour rookie who is ranked 358th in the world, Turnesa was the leader after the first three rounds.
"I made a mistake you can't make," Turnesa said.
Gay was eliminated on the first playoff hole, when he bogeyed the par-four No. 18. MacKenzie and Turnesa each posted a par.
MacKenzie's only previous PGA Tour victory was two years ago and his best finish this year was a tie for fourth at the John Deere Classic.
"We got very lucky, very fortunate," MacKenzie said.
Chad Campbell, who won here last year, competed for the victorious United States in the Ryder Cup this week.
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