Alex Cejka wins first PGA Tour title at Puerto Rico Open

Alex Cejka finally ended his long quest for a maiden PGA Tour title after a birdie at the first play-off hole earned him the Puerto Rico Open title.

The 44-year-old, who was playing in his 287th PGA Tour event at Rio Grande, fired a closing three-under 69 to join Tim Petrovic and Sam Saunders on seven under before Emiliano Grillo and Jon Curran both made bogey-sixes at the last.

The quintet returned to the 18th, where Curran and Grillo both got into trouble and Petrovic was unable to better par, leaving Cejka and Saunders to battle it out on the green.

Cejka struck the first blow when he drained a 12-foot putt for a birdie-four, and Saunders - the grandson of the legendary Arnold Palmer - could not follow him in from eight feet as his putt to extend the play-off shaved the edge of the cup.

"I'm speechless," Cejka said. "I'm glad it's over. It's been a grinding week, tough week. The first victory is always the toughest. These guys are good. I mean this is the slogan. At least I can say I played the PGA Tour for a long time and I won. So that's a good sentence I can use when I retire."

Petrovic had been first into the clubhouse on seven under after a closing 67 in wet and blustery conditions, racing up the leaderboard with two opening birdies before holing out from a greenside bunker for an eagle-two at the third.

He atoned for bogey at 10 with birdies at 13 and 18 to set the target, and he was soon joined by Saunders after he returned a solid five-birdie 68.

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Cejka birdied four of the first six holes, but he gave a shot back at the 11th and parred his way in to post a 69 which proved good enough to keep him in the tournament after Grillo and Curran both made a mess of the closing hole.

Will Wilcox finished a shot behind the leaders after closing with an entertaining 67 which featured five birdies and two bogeys in a front-nine 33 followed by a faultless two-birdie inward half.

Wilcox was joined on six under by Will MacKenzie, who kept a bogey off his card in a superb 68, while former Ryder Cup player Boo Weekley (69) and Scott Pinckney (70) made it a four-way share of sixth.

Two-time major champion John Daly enjoyed a run of three birdies in four holes around the turn as he carded a 69 to close on five under along with overnight leaders Scott Brown and Chris Smith, who stuttered to one-over 73s.