American Jim Furyk eagled the first playoff hole here Wednesday to defeat Ireland's Padraig Harrington and win the 26th PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Harrington, the British Open and PGA Championship winner, and Furyk each fired a two-under par 68 for the second day in a row at the Mid Ocean Club to stand on 136 entering the playoff. Furyk, who birdied the par-5 18th hole to complete regulation play and force the playoff, eagled the same hole to take the title, a birdie by Harrington on the extra hole not proving enough to even extend the duel. South African Retief Goosen fired a one-over 71 to finish third on 141, four strokes ahead of compatriot Trevor Immelman, the Masters champion who fired a 69 Wednesday after struggling to a 76 in the first round. The 36-hole showdown was supposed to match the year's four Grand Slam champions but US Open champion Tiger Woods is injured and Harrington won two majors, so Furyk and Goosen filled the field in the 1.35 million-dollar event. Furyk won $600,000, twice the runner-up money for Harrington, while Goosen took home $250,000 and Immelman $200,000. Harrington opened and closed the front nine with back-to-back birdies, sandwiched around a bogey at the fifth, and stretched his lead to two strokes with another birdie at the 11th. Even when Harrington took a bogey at the par-4 12th, Furyk also made bogey to stay two strokes back while Goosen made a triple-bogey at 12, stumbling from four strokes to six off the pace. Furyk, who had birdied the par-3 third and par-4 sixth holes, then birdied the par-3 13th to close within a stroke and the US veteran took a one-stroke lead when Harrington took a double-bogey at the par-4 15th. Harrington reclaimed the lead with a birdie at the par-3 17th while Furyk took a bogey on the hole. But a fighting Furyk answered with a birdie on 18 to force the playoff. US, European Tours get more British Open spots The top 30 players instead of the leading 20 from both the European and US PGA Tours will qualify automatically for the 2009 British Open, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) said on Wednesday. “The R&A continues to monitor the ever changing golfing world and our championship committee aims to reflect this in the exemptions into the (British) Open Championship,” Peter Dawson, the R&A's chief executive, said in a statement. No further explanation was given for the increase in exemptions for the world's two biggest tours. To budget for the extra spots, International Final Qualifying (IFQ) in Europe will have a smaller field with 96 players competing for 10 places for the year's third major at Turnberry in Scotland. The field for IFQ in the United States will be 78 with eight places available. IFQ Australasia and IFQ Africa will each have three places available.
