LOS ANGELES -- Rory Sabbatini had a four-shot lead coming into the final round and emerged from a four-way tie Sunday with a tee shot into 5 feet for birdie on the pivotal par-3 16th to escape with a one-shot victory in the Nissan Open.

Sabbatini closed with a 1-over 72 -- the highest final round by a winner at Riviera Country Club since 1977 -- and had few complaints. He outlasted Riviera favorite Fred Couples, won for the first time on the PGA TOUR in three years and finally had something to show for his strong start to the season.

But he never felt safe until lagging a 45-foot putt on the 18th hole to within a foot, leaving him a tap-in for par to avoid a playoff with defending champion Adam Scott.

Scott started the final day nine shots behind, shot 31 on the back nine to close with a 64, and was on the range waiting to see if it would be good enough to force extra holes.

Couples, a two-time winner at the Nissan Open, had the look of a winner when he caught Sabbatini on the 12th hole and stood over an 8-foot birdie putt on the 13th for the outright lead. He left that short, then ran into trouble with bogeys on three of his last four holes for a 71 to finish fourth.

Craig Barlow, who also had a share of the lead with three holes to play, missed two short putts down the stretch and had to settle for a 70 that left him in third.

Sabbatini finished at 13-under 271 and earned $918,000 for his third PGA TOUR victory. The win shot him to the top of the TOUR money list with over $2.1 million.

The tournament tightened up when Sabbatini hit left of the fairway, left of the green and missed another putt on the 15th hole to slip into a four-way tie with Couples, Barlow and Scott.

And with a strong, cool wind in their faces, he watched Barlow come up well short of the green on the 16th and Couples hit off a tree and into a bunker. Sabbatini steadied himself over the shot, cupped his hand over his visor to block the glare of the sun and relied as much on his ears to realize he hit a good one at the right time. The two-shot swing was all he needed.

No one in the final group birdied the par-5 17th, and Sabbatini removed any suspense by safely finding the green on the fabled closing hole at Riviera and lagging his putt perfectly.

Scott won last year in a playoff when the Nissan Open was cut to 36 holes because of rain, so it did not count as an official victory. He would have loved a chance for extra holes Sunday, which seemed out of reach when he began the final round nine shots out of the lead.

"I didn't think I had a chance," Scott said. "When I got to about the 12th hole, the leaders were still at 13 and 14 (under par). The wind picked up in our face, and I knew if I could get a few more birdies they would have some tough holes coming in."

Sabbatini, 29, won for the first time since 2003. Of players in their 20s, only Sergio Garcia with six victories has won more on the PGA TOUR.

The South African was coming off his worst year since his rookie season in 1999, but quickly put that to rest. He has not finished lower than 20th in his six starts, and along with his victory at Riviera, Sabbatini finished second at the Sony Open in Hawaii and last week at Pebble Beach.

"It's totally a game of confidence," Scott said. "When you've got that confidence, you've got to run with it because who knows how long it's going to last?"

Rory Sabbatini won for the first time since the 2003 season. (Grayson/ WireImage)

Sabbatini was so confident that he said Saturday evening he might switch irons for the final round. He stuck with the clubs that staked him to a four-shot lead, although he probably could have used a different putter.

He missed 4-foot par putts three times, making it known early that Sunday would be a struggle. Two of them came on consecutive holes early in the round, on Nos. 3 and 4, allowing Couples to creep to within two shots. More than that, it energized a large gallery soaking up crisp sunshine and memories of Couples as a younger man when he dominated Riviera with two victories and three runner-up finishes in a seven-year span.

Couples did his part.

From the bunker in the middle of the par-3 sixth green, he blasted out to 6 feet and saved par to stay in range, and he drained a 15-foot par putt on the ninth when bogey looked like a certainty.

Sabbatini kept cracking. A three-putt par from the fringe on the par-5 11th was followed by another miss from 4 feet for bogey on the 12th, costing him sole possession of the lead for the first time since Friday.

Divots: Ernie Els, making his '06 debut on the PGA TOUR, closed with a 67 and tied for 23rd at 4-under 280. ... Lee Westwood of England birdied his last hole for a 68 that moved him into a tie for fifth. It was his best finish in the United States since he tied for fifth in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and it earned him much-needed Ryder Cup points. ... Nissan has agreed to extend its title sponsorship through 2010.

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