Brian Stuard shrugged off weather delays at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and went bogey-free for the week at TPC Louisiana on his way to a maiden PGA Tour victory.
He finished the tournament with a Monday playoff win over Jamie Lovemark and Byeong-Hun An after all three players ended regulation play tied on 15-under-par.
‘I wasn’t playing great. I was just kind of, I don’t know … hanging around,’ Stuard said after his final round of 69. ‘I kind of hung in there all week. I just didn’t get too ahead of myself and just stayed real patient, and it paid off.’
Heavy rains forced suspensions in play on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, and eventually the tournament was reduced to 54 holes and a Monday finish. Stuard kept a cool head in spite of the stoppages and was rewarded with a breakthrough victory.
‘Kind of overwhelming right now to think of all those great things that comes with winning, but I don’t know, I just feel very fortunate, very happy,’ said the new champ.
World number one Jason Day shared fifth place and broke 70 in his three rounds.
Thomas Aiken recorded a 15th-place finish and moved to 152nd on the PGA Tour Money List. It was his first top-20 in his rookie season in the United States.
