Donald errors hand Verplank win
Verplank took advantage of Donald’s stumble
US unless stated
S Verplank
L Donald (Eng)
R Sabbatini (SA), J Kelly, P Mickelson, I Poulter (Eng)
V Singh (Fij)
Donald, who led after the second and third rounds, remained on top until the ninth hole, where he hit a tree and three-putted to drop two shots.Verplank pounced and at the 18th Donald missed a birdie putt to force a play-off, finishing on 12-under.Phil Mickelson, Rory Sabbatini, Jerry Kelly and Ian
Poulter tied for third.While Donald crucially slipped at the midpoint in the round, a run of five birdies in eight holes pushed Verplank towards his fifth PGA tour title.The win was all the sweeter for Verplank as he was once tutored by Nelson, who died seven months ago, and he had also worked as a volunteer at the tournament, in his home town. Donald had a chance to force a play-off with a birdie putt at the final hole, but missed from 10 feet.”I thought I hit a good putt,” said Donald. “You could see when he won it was a special moment for him.”Verplank admitted he had struggled to hold his nerve.”I’ve never been so nervous in my life,” he said. “To be from Dallas and win the Byron Nelson is unbelievable.”