Kevin Sutherland drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the seventh sudden-death playoff hole Monday morning to defeat Scott Parel in the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Biloxi, Miss.
Darkness ended play Sunday after their fifth playoff hole. After each parred the sixth, Sutherland’s clutch putt at the seventh gave him his second Champions title and the $240,000 championship check.
It was Sutherland’s first birdie in 25 holes, going back to the 18th hole of Saturday’s second round.
Sutherland began Sunday’s final round with a three-stroke lead, but shot a 3-over 75 to finish at 7 under. Parel capped a 3-under 69 with a birdie at the 18th to force the playoff.
Billy Andrade briefly held the lead with a birdie on the 15th to get to 8-under, but bogeyed the 16th and 18th holes to finish alone in third place at 6 under.
Sutherland and Parel exchanged pars on the first playoff hole, bogeys on the second — when Sutherland missed a 2-foot par putt — and pars on the third, fourth and fifth before losing daylight.
Sutherland, 54, made history back in 2014 when he became the first Champions player to shoot a 59 with a 13-under round at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open. He notched his first victory on the tour at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2017.
The Champions record for most sudden-death playoff holes is 10, set when David Graham defeated Dave Stockton at the 1998 Royal Caribbean Classic.
—Field Level Media
