Memphis, TN (Best E Casino) - Justin Leonard birdied the second playoff hole on Sunday to beat Trevor Immelman and Robert Allenby to win the Stanford St. Jude Championship for the second time.
After missing a chance to win in regulation when his 13-foot birdie try at No. 18 burned the edge of the cup, Leonard ended the playoff by rolling in a 19- foot birdie putt for his 12th PGA Tour title.
Leonard, who shot a two-under 68 in the final round, also won the 2005 St. Jude. He began his final round this Sunday in tie for seventh place.
"When I won here in 2005, I led every day and almost let it slip away at the end," said Leonard, who earned $1.08 million and some momentum heading into next week's U.S. Open.
"This week I was kind of back in the pack a little bit and was just able to shoot a really solid round today."
Immelman, who has struggled in the two months since his Masters win, birdied his last three holes in regulation to shoot a one-under 69. He made a 23-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to join the playoff.
"It was a thrill just to give myself a chance," said Immelman.
Allenby knocked a 165-yard approach to just three feet at the 18th to also set up a closing birdie that polished off a 65 and gave him the clubhouse lead at four-under 276.
Then, he waited two hours for the other players to finish.
After all three made pars on the first extra hole, Leonard ended it with his 19-foot birdie at the TPC Southwind's par-three 11th. Immelman was unable to make a 16-footer to tie him, and Allenby wasn't in position to birdie the hole.
"I lost to a good putt," said Allenby.
It was Leonard's second victory in eight months. He claimed the last one in a playoff, too, when he beat Jesper Parnevik to win his third Texas Open last October.
That win was Leonard's first since he claimed the 2005 St. Jude.
The 1997 British Open champion, Leonard had a flawless final round going until he made a costly late bogey at the 17th hole, where his errant drive left him with a chip-out to the fairway as his only option.
Just two holes earlier, he had knocked a 97-yard approach shot to just two feet at the 15th to set up his third birdie of the day. That gave him a one- shot lead.
Immelman, who claimed his first major at Augusta in April, overcame an early double-bogey at the third hole where he hit his ball into the water. The talented South African made a birdie at the 11th, a bogey at the 14th and was still two-over for his round as he stepped to the 16th tee.
But three consecutive birdies got him into the playoff, a run that featured a holed 15-foot putt at the 17th and his 23-footer at the 18th.
"It was exciting," Immelman said.
Allenby, who had been 10-0 in playoffs worldwide before Sunday, started his round with a bogey but played flawlessly after that. He collected six birdies in the round, including two in his last three holes.
The four-time PGA Tour winner from Australian capped the final round with his close approach into the 18th green.
"It was just a three-quarter eight-iron that turned over perfect to the flag," said Allenby, who was looking for his first win since 2001. "It came pretty close to going in."
Gavin Coles was in position to make the playoff, but he hit into a bunker and made a double-bogey at the 18th hole to miss it by two shots.
Coles shot a 71 and shared eighth place with Tom Pernice Jr. (63) and Scott Verplank (68) at two-under 278. Pernice's 63 was the low round of the tournament.
Vijay Singh was tied for the lead before he made back-to-back bogeys around the turn. The big Fijian hooked his tee shot at No. 12 out of bounds by a mile and walked off with a triple-bogey. He had a one-over 71 and finished five shots back at one-under 279 alongside Bob Heintz (68).
