The Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, CT - JUNE 27: Bubba Watson holds the trophy after winning a three-way two-hole playoff after the final round of the Travelers Championship held at TPC River Highlands on June 27, 2010 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Michael Cohen/Getty Images)

CROMWELL — Bubba Watson outlasted Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank in a two-hole playoff to win the 2010 Travelers Championship Sunday at the TPC River Highlands.

This is the 31-year old Watson’s first championship on the PGA Tour. He entered the final round six strokes behind leader Justin Rose. It is the largest comeback on the tour this season and the largest since Padraig Harrington came from six behind to win the 2007 British Open.

Despite a double-bogey on the 17th hole of the final round, Watson birdied the 18th to finish with a 66 pull into a three-way tie with Pavin and Verplank at 14-under for the tournament.

In the first sudden-death playoff at 18, Watson dropped his second shot inches from the pin for an eventual birdie. But Verplank countered with an 8-foot putt to tie. Pavin fell out of contention after hitting his second shot into the right bunker.

Verplank wasn’t so fortunate on 16. He bogeyed the hole, leaving Watson a short putt to win his first PGA Tour title.

Justin Rose, who entered the final round three strokes ahead, shot a 75 and finished three strokes back of the leaders.

This was the 20th playoff in tournament history, with the last coming in 2007 when Hunter Mahan won the title.

Watson is the ninth first-time winner on the tour this year. He earns 800 points and moves to No. 8 in the FedExCup standings.

Corey Pavin falls out of the playoff after Scott Verplank and Bubba Watson birdie the 18th hole. Pavin hit 3-wood off the tee, left it short and put his approach into a right-side bunker. Watson almost holed out his second shot from 128 yards. Verplank sank an 8-foot putt to extend the playoff.

Verplank and Watson head back to the 16th tee.

The last tournament Corey Pavin won doesn’t exist anymore.

Playoff’s on.

Ben Curtis and Justin Rose are both off the green on 17, both at 11-under-par, both three shots behind the leaders. That final group began the day battling for the lead, two and five shots clear of the field. Now, they’re struggling to hang on to the top 10.

We’re staring down a three-man playoff. Not the three we’d have expected, but a three-man playoff.

What did Corey Pavin say about this being an old man’s course?

Justin Rose drowned his tee shot on 15 and made double bogey, leaving Scott Verplank and Pavin alone in the lead, in the clubhouse at 14-under-par 266. Whippersnapper Bubba Watson joined them a moment ago with a 6-foot birdie putt on 18; his tee shot hit the cart path and shot forward for a 396-yard drive.

Rose and Ben Curtis are two shots back with three to play.

Curtis (that drive went out of bounds) double-bogeyed 12 and Rose bogeyed, leaving Scott Verplank in the lead. He finished up a round of 6-under-par 64 to claim the lead at 14 under, one shot better than Chris Riley. Corey Pavin, Bubba Watson and Rose are all at 13.

Verplank, two weeks away from his 46th birthday, went into the day eight shots behind Rose. He leads by one.

Edit: (ahem) What’d that take, five seconds? Watson birdied 15 to tie Verplank.

Add a name from the back of the field to the tie at the top. Scott Verplank has two eagles on the back nine and joined Justin Rose (plus-2 today) and Ben Curtis at minus-14. Verplank is on 17, while the final pair is going to 12.

With no one running away with this, worth noting that Chris Riley is in the clubhouse at 13-under.

Edit: Verplank’s birdie putt hung on the lip at 17; he tapped in for par. Curtis and Rose, meanwhile, sprayed a couple of ugly drives on 12. This thing is wide open.

J.J. Henry birdied No. 9 to get back to 7-under-par for the tournament after bogeys on 1 and 7. As he started the day, he’s eight shots back, but that’s now T-35 instead of T-13.

Edit: No real run out of Henry. He birdied 11 and 13, but he was right of the green on 14 and made bogey to fall back to 8-under. That’s T-28 at the moment, seven behind Justin Rose, who’s under a tree on 10.