Tway defeats Faxon in playoff

Bob Tway took full advantage of an unexpected miss by one of the best putters in the world to win the Bell Canadian Open.

Given new life when Brad Faxon's 4½-foot birdie putt slid by the cup on the second hole of a playoff, Tway two-putted for bogey on the third extra hole Sunday to become the eighth player 40 and over to win a PGA Tour event this year.

"It takes some luck, good fortune and some good golf," Tway said.

The 44-year-old Oklahoman had all of that on the final two holes on the hilly Hamilton Golf and Country Club course, the 87-year-old layout that drew rave reviews.

Tway birdied the par-5 17th -- hitting a 35-yard chip to 3 feet -- to tie Faxon at 8 under and finished regulation with a 25-foot par putt for his second straight 4-under 66, a bogey-free round that included an eagle on the par-5 fourth. Faxon shot a 67.

After the two veterans opened the playoff with pars on No. 18, Faxon hit a brilliant 55-yard bunker shot to set up the birdie putt for the win on the 17th.

"It's a hard putt. I thought it was going to break a little left; it never did," Faxon said. "I'd love to go do it again."

Tway marveled at Faxon's bunker shot.

"The shot he hit out of the bunker was incredible," Tway said. "It's incredible if it's a practice round. It's the hardest shot there is. ... The only saving grace for me was that he was above the hole and couldn't hit that putt with any speed. So it kind of meandered off to the right on him a little bit. I think he hit a good putt."

Faxon made it easy for Tway on the third extra hole, the difficult 18th.

The 42-year-old putting star drove into the right rough, leaving an awkward stance with the ball well above his feet. His second shot went only 60 yards, stopping in tall grass in the hazard where Ancaster Creek snakes across the fairway.

"I could see a lot of ball," Faxon said. "I thought I could have a chance to get a lot of club on the ball and hit a low runner up there. The grass looked like it was running a bit with me, but it shut the face right down."

He hit his third shot into the rough above the sloping green, played a delicate chip down the slope to about 17 feet and just missed his bogey try.

"My hat's off to Bob. He played well on the 18th hole," Faxon said. "It's a tough hole. If you don't get it in the fairway, it's very hard to get on that green. ... It's disappointing when you get this close and don't pull it off, but I was really happy with the way I played. I haven't been in contention in a few months."

Tway, best known for the bunker shot he holed to beat Greg Norman by two strokes in the 1986 PGA Championship, earned $756,000 for his eighth Tour title. He ended a string of 213 winless starts since the 1995 MCI Classic.

"It's a really special win," he said "I've been coming to Canada for a long, long time. This is a national open and it means a lot. I've always thought of it as a little bit bigger Tournament than a normal stop."

Faxon made three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15, holing putts of 7, 43 and 10 feet, to reach 8 under. He saved par with an 8½-footer on the 17th and missed a chance to win in regulation on 18 when his 45-foot birdie try stopped a foot short.

Tom Pernice Jr. closed with a bogey for a 68 to finish a stroke out of the playoff, and Japan's Hidemichi Tanaka, the third-round leader at 7 under, shot a 71 to drop into a tie for fourth with South Korea's K.J. Choi (66) at 6 under.

Fred Funk, the co-leader with Tanaka at 8 under after a hole-in-one on No. 6, shot a 70 to finish three strokes back along with Vijay Singh (68).

Funk's 3-iron from 217 yards raced across the green and hit the flagstick, drawing a thunderous roar from the gallery, but the 47-year-old failed to build on the unlikely ace, bogeying the next three holes.

Masters champion Mike Weir shot a 69 to finish 10th at 3 under. He was trying to become the first Canadian to win the event since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

Divots:

• Singh, Kenny Perry, Fred Couples, Scott Hoch, Craig Stadler, Peter Jacobsen and Kirk Triplett are the other 40-plus winners this year. Perry has three victories and Singh two, while Stadler won the B.C. Open at 50.

• Paul Azinger, penalized two strokes Friday after a television viewer alerted Tour officials that the player's caddie removed the flagstick while Funk's chip was still in motion on the 13th green, shot a 70 to tie for 48th at 4 over.

• Jay Don Blake aced the 13th, hitting a 3-iron 224 yards, and also eagled the par-5 17th. He shot a 65 to finish at 1 under.

• The 2004 Tournament will be played at Glen Abbey in nearby Oakville.

With his win Sunday, Tway is ensured a spot in next season's Mercedes Championships. He also earned 100 Fall Finish points to tie Adam Scott for the top spot in the 12-Tournament race.

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