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Johnson wins Atlanta Classic

21/05/2007

Masters champion Zach Johnson has won the Atlanta Classic in Duluth, Georgia after a sudden-death play-off victory over Japanese player Ryuji Imada.

Both men finished on 15 under par for the tournament and needed an extra hole to separate them.

Imada, who had birdied the 18th in order to force the play-off, was the first to crack under pressure as they replayed that par-five.

He dunked his ball in the lake with his second shot after attempting an ambitious approach across the water to give Johnson a straightforward chance to take the title.

And when he made a six, the American was left to celebrate a second PGA Tour title of the year to go with his Augusta triumph.

Johnson said he "admired the courage" of Imada to take a shot at the green with his second, which ultimately was his undoing.

"If it was a little bit more to the right it may have carried on," he said.

"I'm disappointed right now but I'm not regretting the decision because I still think it was the right one," Imada said afterwards.

Colombia's Camilo Villegas and American pair Matt Kuchar and Troy Matteson finished in joint-third three shots behind the leaders.

The European Tour's top-rated player was Henrik Stenson, who finished on ten under.

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