Scott wins playoff at shortened Nissan Open Feb. 21, 2005 GolfWeb Wire Services LOS ANGELES -- Adam Scott made a 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole Monday morning to beat Chad Campbell in a sudden-death playoff at the Nissan Open, the first PGA TOUR event in nine years to be cut to 36 holes. The playoff came shortly after the final two rounds were canceled because of rain that saturated Riviera Country Club, leaving Scott and Campbell to play for the difference of $386,000. Scott earned $864,000 and moved up to No. 7 in the world ranking, his highest spot. But because the tournament was only 36 holes, he will not get credit for an official victory. "I don't feel like I played much golf this week," Scott said. "I don't feel tired and drained like you normally do when you've been battling." But he has his name on the trophy, thanks to his second crucial putt in as many days. Scott finished off his second round Sunday with a 20-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole for a 5-under 66 that enabled him to join Campbell in the lead at 9-under 133. Campbell shot 65 in the second round, but he finished on Friday. Rain washed out play Saturday, and suspended play Sunday just as Campbell arrived at Riviera. Playing for the first time in three days, Campbell laced a drive down the middle of the fairway. His 5-wood was right of the green, and after getting relief from a puddle, he chipped 5 feet past the hole. His par putt caught the left lip, and Scott rolled in his 4-footer. "It's been a tough week, a very unusual week," Scott said. "I knew what I had to do back there on the ninth, and it worked out in the end." The last 36-hole winner on the PGA TOUR was Michael Bradley in the 1996 Buick Challenge at Callaway Gardens, a tournament that no longer exists. He won in a five-way playoff. Other players to have won after only two rounds on the PGA TOUR were Brian Henninger at the 1994 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, and Neal Lancaster at the 1994 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, a victory that was known as the half-Nelson. But those counted in the record books. Several years ago, the PGA TOUR decided that only 54-hole tournaments could be deemed official. Scott's money does count toward the PGA TOUR money list, and Scott moved up to No. 4. He received 75 percent of the world ranking points, pushing him up to No. 7. That knocked Davis Love III out of the top 10 for the first time since 1997. It wasn't the best start for Scott. He hooked his tee shot into the left rough, leaving him a sidehill lie from 218 yards away in a cold, steady rain. He hit 3-wood to the front edge of the green, some 80 feet short of the hole, then chipped to 4 feet. Scott felt for Campbell, who had the entire weekend off because of the rain. "He hasn't hit a shot or a putt in two days," Scott said. "And he's got a slider for his first putt. That's a tough ask." Campbell made no excuses. Standing on the range, as he and Scott warmed up in solitude with their caddies standing over with umbrellas, Campbell said, "I could use a 300-yard rope." "It was a perfect 5-wood. I just hit it a little right," Campbell said. "The putt was outside left, and I just hit it a little bit firm." The third round was to resume at 7:30 a.m. PST, but 2 inches of rain fell overnight and the forecast looked even worse. PGA TOUR tournament director Mark Russell met with the players in the locker room and told them it was over, except for Scott and Campbell. That was bad news for Darren Clarke and Brian Davis, who were one shot behind, and a big blow to Colin Montgomerie, who has never won a PGA TOUR event and finished his 36 holes just two shots back. And it ended any chance for Tiger Woods to return to No. 1 in the world this week. He needed to finish fourth to replace Vijay Singh, and ended this week in a tie for 13th, four shots out of the lead. Woods probably would have to win the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa later this week for the third straight year to reclaim No. 1. As players cleaned out their lockers, some of them heading down the coast to La Costa, Campbell and Scott got out their rain gear and waited for the range to open so they could warm up. And even though the tournament is unofficial, it ends Mike Weir's two-year reign as the champion. The Canadian was trying to become the first player in Nissan Open history to win three straight times. He was at 2-under 140, seven shots out of the lead. "Obviously, I was hoping for 36 more holes," Weir said. "It would have been tough to make that up in one round." The 18th hole was chosen for the playoff, the one hole at Riviera that doesn't have a bunker in the landing area off the tee or surrounding the green. Scott ran into Robert Allenby in the locker room, a fellow Aussie who won the 2001 Nissan Open in a six-way playoff by hitting 3-wood from 225 yards into 5 feet. "I said, 'Driver, 3-wood and a putt?"' Scott said. "His was about 6 feet, mine was about 86 feet." Ultimately, he got the trophy -- just not a victory in the record books.