After watching Estes and Haas miss their birdie attempts on the 168-yard 18th hole, Stallings curled in a 7-footer for his first tour victory. He flipped his putter, then hugged and high-fived his caddie.
“To be a champion in such a great event is a huge blessing,” Stallings said.
The 26-year-old Stallings made six birdies on the back nine to make the playoff, where he earned a winner’s check of $1.08 million and a spot in the Bridgestone Invitational.
“I’ve wanted to do this since I was a little kid,” Stallings said. “I was that little boy running around chasing autographs and yelling at guys because they wouldn’t stop and sign my golf balls.”
It marked the second straight week that a tournament was won in sudden death. Sean O’Hair beat Kris Blanks on the first playoff hole a week ago at the Canadian Open.
In just its second year, the Greenbrier Classic produced another dramatic finish. Stuart Appleby shot 59 in last year’s final round, including a birdie on the last hole to beat Jeff Overton by a stroke.
Haas earned his fourth top-10 finish of the season, while the 45-year-old Estes missed out on his first tour win since 2002 and fifth overall. Estes battled a wrist injury earlier this year and was playing in just his seventh tournament.
Estes shot 6-under 64 and was the clubhouse leader at 10 under, then watched as Haas birdied the par-5 17th six groups later to join him after a 67.
Stallings, who shot 69, bogeyed the par-5 17th after his drive went out of bounds and he needed a birdie at No. 18 to make the playoff. He sank a 5-footer to do it.
After signing his scorecard, Stallings made his impromptu sprint and said later he wasn’t too winded for the playoff.
“Running from the back of the green to the tee to go to the playoff is something I’ll never forget,” he said. “I’ve been working with a trainer for about a month, so he should be proud.”
Estes waited more than an hour between the final round and the playoff. He went to eat, then warmed up on the practice range, hitting his 8 iron and putter to prepare for No. 18, and driver, 5 wood and sand wedges for No. 17 if it went that far.
“I felt like I did everything exactly right,” Estes said. “I just didn’t make the birdie putt on 18.”
Jimmy Walker (68), Andres Romero (65), Brendon de Jonge (66), Cameron Tringale (67) and Gary Woodland (69) finished at 9 under.
After last year’s tournament, the course was lengthened more than 200 yards and the reseeded greens were less receptive to approach shots this time around. Appleby and Phil Mickelson were among those missing the cut, and the low rounds of the tournament were 62s shot by Anthony Kim and Walker on Saturday.
There were birdies to be made Sunday, just not the boatload that Appleby enjoyed last year.
Kim, the third-round leader, missed four birdie tries under 14 feet on the first six holes. He three-putted the par-3 8th, then hooked his tee shot into trees on the next hole and made bogey. He shot 74 to finish at 6 under, tied with four others.
Webb Simpson overcame a double bogey on the first hole, made five birdies on the front nine and took the lead briefly after a 3-footer for birdie at No. 9. It would be his last. He bogeyed the next hole and never recovered. He shot even par and finished tied with Kyle Stanley at 8 under.
Woods to play at Australian Open
Meantime, Tiger Woods will play in the Australian Open a week before the Presidents Cup in his first appearance in Sydney since his first year as a pro.
Golf Australia chief Stephen Pitt announced Monday that Woods would join the field for the Nov. 10-13 tournament that already includes Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, defending champion Geoff Ogilvy and Presidents Cup captains Greg Norman and Fred Couples.
The Presidents Cup is the following week at Royal Melbourne.
Woods, who has been out the last three months with injuries to his left knee and Achilles’, is No. 26 in the Presidents Cup standings. The top 10 Americans qualify for the US team on Sept. 18, although Couples is likely to take Woods as a captain’s pick if his game appears to be in good shape.
The announcement is a sign Woods feels confident his leg is fully healed and he expects to play in the Presidents Cup.
The 14-time major champion has plunged to No. 28 in the world — his lowest ranking since he was No. 33 at the start of the 1997 season — and has gone 20 months since his last win at the 2009 Australian Masters in Melbourne.
Twelve days after that win, he crashed his car into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home, the start of a stunning unraveling of his personal life that led to him be exposed for multiple extramarital affairs. He was divorced in August 2010.
Woods returned to Australia last year and tied for fourth in the Australian Masters.
He last played in Sydney in the 1996 Australian Open, where he opened with a 79 and rallied to tie for fifth. It was his ninth tournament as a pro.
“I haven’t played in the tournament since 1996, and I’m anxious to return,” Woods said in a statement released by Golf Australia. “I have a great affinity for playing golf in Australia and I’m looking forward to competing against an outstanding field.”
Woods’ last appearance in Australia generated capacity crowds for the Australian Masters as well as high levels of security and intense media scrutiny. The PGA of Australia is expecting record crowds and TV audiences for its major events this year.
“Tiger’s presence in Australia’s most prestigious tournament will further enhance what is certain to be a huge summer of Australian golf,” PGA of Australia chief executive Brian Thorburn said.
It once appeared unlikely for Woods to play in the Australian Open. IMG runs the Australian Masters and had lobbied hard to have that tournament held the week before the Presidents Cup, the premier spot on Australia’s golf calendar this year. Organizers instead gave the date to the Australian Open, which is golf’s fourth-oldest championship.
That changed, however, when IMG did not renew the contract of Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, who also ran IMG’s golf division. Steinberg now works for Excel Sports Management.
