Woods beats Daly in playoff, wins American Express Championship

In a phenomenal display of power between golf's two biggest sluggers, Tiger Woods outlasted John Daly in the American Express Championship because of a 3-foot putt.

Woods made up two shots over the final three holes Sunday to force a playoff, then won on the second extra hole when Daly three-putted for bogey from 15 feet on the 16th, badly pulling his short par putt.

"I just played that second putt straight, and it went left," Daly said. "It wasn't mean to be."

It was a somber end to a riveting afternoon along the shores of Lake Merced in San Francisco, where some 20,000 fans crammed along the fairways and cypress trees were treated to 350-yard drives and drama rarely seen this side of a major.

Woods closed with a 2-under 68 and won the American Express Championship for the fourth time in six starts. He extended his dominance in these World Golf Championships, winning his 10th in 19 events.

Daly shot 69 and had two chances to win. He missed a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation, then had a birdie putt from 15 feet on the second extra hole that just grazed the left side of the cup. Fans scrambled to the next hole, none of them imagining that Daly would miss from 3 feet.

"I feel so bad for J.D.," Woods said. "You never, ever want to win a golf tournament like that."

But he'll take it, along with the $1.3 million prize that pushed his season to over $9.9 million and, with two tournaments left on his schedule, gave him a shot at beating the record set by Vijay Singh a year ago.

Colin Montgomerie missed birdie putts of 6 and 10 feet to cost himself a chance for his first official victory on U.S. soil, but kept alive his hopes with a 12-foot birdie on the 17th to get within one shot.

But he missed the 18th green, chipped weakly and took bogey for a 70 that left him in a three-way tie for third at 272 with Henrik Stenson (68) and Sergio Garcia (69).

Champions Tour

Jay Haas rallied with a 7-under 65 Sunday for his first Champions Tour victory, a two-stroke win at the Greater Hickory Classic in Conover, N.C.

The 51-year-old Haas, who splits time between the PGA Tour and the 50-and-over tour, finished with a tournament-record 16-under 200 at Rock Barn Golf and Spa's Jones Course. He beat the previous mark of 14 under, set last year by Doug Tewell.

The victory ended Haas' 12-year, 302-event winless streak in Tour-sanctioned tournaments.

Second-round leader Dana Quigley finished second after a 2-under 70. Loren Roberts moved into the lead early in the third round, but fell off the pace after a triple bogey at No. 6, finishing third at 203 after a 70.

LPGA Tour

Chile's Nicole Perrot earned her first LPGA Tour victory, rallying from a two-shot deficit.

The 21-year-old Perrot, the 2001 U.S. Girls champion, offset three bogeys on the front nine at The Ridge Golf Course in Auburn, Calif., with three birdies on the back in an even-par 71. She finished at 14-under 270, one shot ahead of South Korea's Hee-Won Han (69).

-- From wire reports