Lowry slumps to final round 76 as Taylor wins Phoenix Open play-off

Shane Lowry struggled to a final round 76 at the Phoenix Open as Nick Taylor rode a late surge to secure victory in the second hole of a play-off against Charley Hoffman at TPC Scottsdale.

Lowry, who played 31 holes in a marathon Saturday after rain played havoc with the schedule, resumed on Sunday with four holes to play to complete his third round.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Birdies at the last two holes ensured a 68, but the scoring proved more difficult in the final round, with three bogeys in his opening seven holes.

A birdie at the ninth proved to be only one of the round with bogeys at 11, where he went out of bounds, and 12, where he two-putted after finding a greenside bunker.

The 36-year-old found sand twice at the final hole on his way to another dropped shot meaning he carded for a five-over par round of 76 to on three-under and 18 shots adrift of Taylor and Hoffman.

Seamus Power closed with a 69 to finish on one-under par.

The Waterford native moved to four-under with a birdie at the sixth – his 15th hole – but bogeys in the final two holes saw him drop places and a tie for 66th overall.

Tournament victory went to Canadian Taylor who birdied three of his final four holes to force the play-off against America's Hoffman, who soared to the top of the leaderboard with a fourth-round score of 64.

After each man birdied the first extra hole, Hoffman left his birdie attempt short, leaving the window open for Taylor to sink a birdie putt from 11 feet and clinch the title.

It closed out what had been a frantic final day with Zach Johnson and Billy Horschel earlier exchanging angry words with spectators.

Johnson was filmed remonstrating with fans at TPC Scottsdale and could be heard telling them "I'm sick of it" before demanding they