Damron emerges victorious from playoff in Dawg country

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Athens, Ga. -- Nobody in Georgia was more surprised that Robert Damron was in a playoff at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic than Robert Damron. The 35-year old Floridian wasn't as sharp as he wanted to be but wound up making putt after putt over four days at Jennings Mill Country Club.

Robert Damron birdied the 18th hole in a playoff with Greg Owen to clinch the win in Athens, Ga. (Cannon/Getty Images)

The clincher came on the first hole of the playoff with England's Greg Owen, a 14-footer for birdie from off the back edge of the green. Owen, who birdied the final two holes of regulation to force the extra session, came up short on his 12-foot putt to tie, giving Damron his first win since the 2001 Verizon Byron Nelson Classic.

"It sounds bad to say that I hit it terribly, but I really did," said Damron, who collected $94,500 and moved to No. 7 on the season money list. "I flirted with trouble all week long, but I came out smelling like a rose. A hot putter makes up for a lot of mistakes. I can't count the number of putts I made over 20 feet this week, maybe five or six. I made tons from 10 to 20 feet."

Much of the attention during the week had been on 22-year old rookie Brendon Todd, a four-time All-American at the University of Georgia who owned the second-round lead and shared the 54-hole lead with Owen at 10-under par. Todd fell victim to a Sunday pairing and some bad breaks en route to an 8-over 80 and a tie for 25th.

That left the stage to Damron, who charged through the pack, reeling off five birdies in a six-hole stretch to make the turn at 10-under par.

"I didn't think I'd have much of a chance to win today," said Damron, who started the day five shots off the pace. "I thought I'd get two or three-under, make a nice check and go about my business. I just hit that stretch that gets momentum going. When I made the turn, I figured I had a good chance."

Damron had closed the gap on the final pairing of Todd and Owen, with several others hovering near the top of the pack. Casey Wittenberg, Darron Stiles, Vance Veazey, and Bubba Dickerson all threatened at one point, but Damron's 20-foot birdie putt at No. 11 got him to 11-under par. From there, he did a lot of hitting-and-hoping.

"My long irons and driver were hideous," he said. "I was genuinely frightened on a lot of tee shots. My nerves can't take tournaments like this. I guess when it's your week, it's your week."

Damron stayed out of trouble the rest of the way and finished off a bogey-free, 6-under 66 when the scoring average reached 73.698.

"I like being here, I don't know why," said Damron, who posted a 64 in the final round a year ago and finished fifth. "I don't think my Sunday stroke average is that good any place else."

Damron set the stage and waited to see if anybody would catch him, though he was hoping against it.

"I'm hoping not to be a playoff," he said while biding his time. "I don't really want to have to touch another club. I have the feeling that any swing I make can be big trouble."

Owen, the 36-year old transplanted Englishman put on his rally cap and birdied three of his final five holes, including the final two.

"I knew with four holes to go that 11-under was in," said Owen, a member of the PGA TOUR from 2005-07. "I knew what I had to do. I knew I had to give myself three good chances."

Down by two with two to go, Owen stuffed an 8-iron to within two feet on No. 17 and then rolled in an 8-footer on the last hole to force the playoff.

Damron and Owen both played the 547-yard, par-5, 18th hole as a three-shot hole. Damron's ball settled just over the green in the short fringe.

"I'm not saying I knew I was going to make it," he said. "I knew I had a good read. I knew was putting good. There was a strong chance in my mind that I was going to make it. I like the position because if I make it then the pressure's on Greg."

Casey Wittenberg birdied the final hole to finish in third place. Roger Tambellini and Vance Veazey tied for fourth, two shots back.