PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Jim Furyk joined Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher as the only players to win their first two PGA Tour Champions starts, beating Jerry Kelly with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff in the Pure Insurance Championship.
The 50-year-old Furyk won The Ally Championship last month in Michigan in his tour debut. Palmer won his first two events in 1980, and Fleisher accomplished the feat in 1999.
"I feel very fortunate, it means a lot," Furyk said. "When I won at Ally, I hadn't won in over five years. It's why we play the game, it's why you work so hard, it's to have this feeling. I feel honored I guess to be mentioned with AP. I look at the hard work I put in a lot of this year through our delay, our break."
Furyk and Kelly both laid up on the par-5 18th in the playoff, with Kelly hitting his approach to 10 feet and Furyk following with a 90-yard wedge to 3 feet. Furyk holed his birdie try after Kelly pulled his attempt.
"The first time in there I tried to kind of cut a gap wedge and I hit it just how I wanted, saw how firm that green was, it kicked forward," Furyk said. "So with it not playing quite as long, it was kind of a perfect go-ahead-and-hit sand wedge, I knew I could spin it. "
Furyk closed with a 5-under 67 -- a day after losing the lead to Ernie Els with a second-round 73 -- to match Kelly at 12-under 204. Playing three groups ahead of Furyk and four in front of Els, Kelly birdied the 18th for a 65.
Els missed a 2-foot putt on the 18th to finish a stroke out of the playoff. The South African star shot his second consecutive 70.
"I just missed the putt, kind of misread it," Els said. "I battled hard. I didn't quite have my swing."
Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open winner and 17-time PGA Tour champion, played the first six holes Sunday in 5 under -- making an eagle on the par-5 second and three birdies -- then parred the final 12.
"I drove the ball so well today and especially on the back nine," Furyk said, "I didn't score as well on the back, but I drove the ball well, relied on that, tried to make the same swing."
Mike Weir (69) and Retief Goosen (70) tied for fourth at 9 under.
Dicky Pride, playing alongside Els in the final group, had a 77 to drop into a tie for 25th at 3 under.
Glen Day (Little Rock) shot a 74 on Sunday and finished at 217, 13 shots behind Furyk.
LPGA
Hall wins at Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Georgia Hall won the Portland Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory in the United States, beating Ashleigh Buhai with a par on the second hole of a playoff.
Hall won after falling into a tie with a bogey on the part-4 18th in regulation. The 24-year-old Englishwoman, the 2018 Women's British Open champion, matched Buhai with a par on 18 on the first extra hole and won on the par-4 first at Columbia Edgewater.
"To bogey the last hole, I was quite upset about that," Hall said.
Hall closed with a 4-under 68. She bogeyed the par-4 third, birdied Nos. 5-7 and 10-12 and made five consecutive pars before closing with bogey to fall into the playoff.
"The pins were so tricky today," Hall said. "I knew the scoring wouldn't be a low. I had a really good run in the middle there, three or four in a row. Had to hold on the last few holes."
The 31-year-old Buhai, from South Africa, birdied four of the last five holes for a 65 -- matching Danielle Kang for best round of the day.
"Hit good shots coming down the stretch," Buhai said. "You know, adrenaline. It's difficult to really calculate. Not much you can do, and just a misread putt. Just misread it a little bit."
She missed a chance for her first LPGA Tour victory.
"I can't say I really feel like celebrating right now," Buhai said. "I finished second in the past and I felt that was a good week. Obviously, a little disappointed, but there were far more positives this week than negatives."
Former University of Arkansas golfers Maria Fassi and Gaby Lopez finished in a tie for 28th. Fassi shot a 72 on Sunday while Lopez fired a 75. Both finished at 5-under 211. Alana Uriell (Razorbacks) finished in a tie for 35th. Uriell finished at 4-under 212.