Stuard takes Zurich Classic for first PGA Tour win

AVONDALE, La. — Brian Stuard made steady golf pay off on a waterlogged course in the haunting cypress swamps outside New Orleans.

The 33-year-old Stuard birdied the final hole of a largely unspectacular final round to sneak into a three-way playoff Monday, then beat Jamie Lovemark on the second extra hole to capture his maiden PGA Tour triumph at the Zurich Classic.

Stuard never bogeyed a hole throughout the tournament on the long (7,425-yard), par-72 TPC Louisiana course, which was drenched with more than 4½ inches of rain during the tournament. Weather delays Thursday, Saturday and Sunday not only forced a Monday finish but also led officials to shorten the tournament to 54 holes.

“I wasn’t playing great. I was just kind of, I don’t know … hanging around,” Stuard said after his final-round 69, which wasn’t even among the top 20 scores on the day. “I kind of hung in there all week. I just didn’t get too ahead of myself and just stayed real patient.”

Lovemark, Stuard and Byeong-Hun An entered the playoff at 15 under par.

An unraveled on the first playoff hole and Lovemark on the second while Stuard remained composed, virtually clinching the win with a 160-yard approach to within 2½ of the pin for an easy birdie putt.

Stuard’s best previous PGA Tour finishes were a pair of second places in Mexico, one in 2010 and the other in 2014. He arrived in New Orleans with conditional status on the PGA Tour, meaning he could only play in tournaments that had room for him when enough higher-ranked players skipped the event.

Stuard’s victory not only earned him $1.26 million, it also gives him a two-year exemption allowing him to play in majors and any other Tour event he wants.

“I’ve always been, I guess, a journeyman kind of player, just always grinded it out,” said Stuard, who became the seventh first-time winner in New Orleans in the past 11 years. “You just had to have the confidence to say, ‘One day, it’s going to be your time.’”

Notes: A PGA Tour event hadn’t been shortened to 54 holes since the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Golf Club. … The last Monday finish was at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in early February.