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 The tournament was delayed several times by rain, and ultimately
shortened to 54 holes of regulation. But that proved not to be
enough to crown a champion after Jamie Lovemark left a 12-foot
birdie putt just short on his final hole. That created a three-way
playoff between Lovemark, Stuard and Ben An, who each finished at
15-under
An chunked a chip shot on the first playoff hole and was eliminated
with a bogey. Lovemark had a second opportunity to win the
tournament with a birdie putt, but it slid right of the hole.
He again appeared in control, taking advantage of his significant
distance advantage over Stuard to set up a 3-wood into the par-5
18th hole. However, Lovemark pulled the ball left and long, leaving
himself an awkward chip shot. Meanwhile, Stuard laid up and knocked
his approach shot to four feet.
 Lovemark's chip fell short of the green and he got up and down for
par. That left a short putt for Stuard for the victory. In 56 holes
played during the tournament, Stuard did not card a single bogey.
"I didn't start out great today, or yesterday morning, and I just
hung in there," said Stuard. "My short game was awesome this week,
and my putter was great.
With the victory, Stuard earns a spot in next year's Tournament of
Champions, an invitation to The Masters in 2017 and a tour-year
exemption on the PGA Tour. It's a big jump for a player who entered
the season with conditional status playing out of the 125-150
category on the money list.
"That makes this year and next year ... easy, I guess. I don't
know... I don't know what to say," said Stuard, who shot a 3-under
round of 69 in the third round at the TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
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Conversely, it was a bitter disappointment for the 28-year-old
Lovemark, the former NCAA champion who is still seeking his first
career PGA Tour victory. He closed with a 4-under 68 in the third
round, but missed multiple opportunities to seal the victory.
Bobby Wyatt (14-under) finished solo fourth, while Chris Kirk, Jason
Day and Jhonattan Vegas, who was grouped with Stuard and Lovemark
and was in contention until the final hole of regulation, shared
fifth place at 13-under.
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