2011 TOUR champions: Easy win or sweat it out?

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Bill Haas
Cox/Getty Images
Bill Haas survived a playoff to capture the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup.
Nov. 8, 2011
By Helen Ross and Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

On the PGA TOUR this season, there were 18 tournaments decided in a playoff, the most in TOUR history. That means there were plenty of white-knuckle finishes, with nervous tension and suspense the main ingredients most Sunday afternoons.

Now that the Fall Series is over and another TOUR season is in the books, we decided to look at each tournament this year and rate its White Knuckle Factor. Did the champion have to sweat out a win like those playoff winners did, or did he have a Sunday stroll on the back nine?

We've rated the White Knuckle Factor from 1 to 5, with one being the least stressful win while 5 being the most stressful. Click here to share your thoughts.

White Knuckle Index in 2011
Tournament Winner White-Knuckle factor Comment Video
Hyundai TOC Jonathan Byrd 4 Watched as Robert Garrigus missed a 3-foot par putt that would have extended playoff Watch
Sony Open Mark Wilson 2 Held off late runs by Steve Marino, Tim Clark to win by two shots on a marathon 36-hole Sunday Watch
Bob Hope Classic Jhonattan Vegas 5 The rookie beat eventual FedExCup champ Bill Haas and Gary Woodland on the second hole of a playoff Watch
Farmers Insurance Open Bubba Watson 5 Watson birdied late to hold off Mickelson, who had caddie tend flag from 70 yards as he tried to hole out to tie Watch
WM Phoenix Open Mark Wilson 4 In Monday finish Wilson holed 9-footer for birdie on second extra hole to beat Jason Dufner in playoff Watch
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am D.A. Points 4 Hunter Mahan twice tied for lead on back, but Points held on by two as he and celeb Bill Murray both won for first time Watch
Northern Trust Open Aaron Baddeley 3 Vijay Singh, Fred Couples put on mild pressure but faltered late as the Aussie won by two Watch
Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun Johnson Wagner 2 Wagner won playoff but victory made easier when Spencer Levin hit bad tee, second shot on first extra hole Watch
WGC-Accenture Match Play Luke Donald 1 Donald beat Martin Kaymer 3 & 2 to become No. 1 in world and never trailed in 89 holes played over six matches Watch
The Honda Classic Rory Sabbatini 2 Sabbatini saw once five-shot lead cut to one but two late birdies and final-round 70 were enough for one-shot win Watch
Puerto Rico Open Michael Bradley 2 Three-putt that included short miss for par by Troy Matteson on the first extra hole opened the door for Bradley Watch
WGC-Cadillac Championship Nick Watney 3 Leading by one going to final hole Watney birdied treacherous 18th for two-shot victory over Dustin Johnson Watch
Transitions Championship Gary Woodland 3 The long-hitting Woodland sank 10-footer for par to cap 67 then watched Webb Simpson bogey final hole Watch
Arnold Palmer Invitational Martin Laird 4 Three-shot lead, to three-shot deficit, back to lead followed by two-putt from 90 feet on last hole to secure one-shot win Watch
Shell Houston Open Phil Mickelson 1 63-65 weekend made things easy for Lefty, who finished three shots clear of the field for only win of year Watch
Masters Charl Schwartzel 4 Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, others charged up the board Sunday, but Schwartzel made one of his own by birdieing final four holes N/A
Valero Texas Open Brenden Steele 4 Leading by one entering final round rookie shot 1-under 71 to win by one on tough day of scoring Watch
The Heritage Brandt Snedeker 5 Shot out-of-nowhere 64 then had to endure long wait before playoff against Luke Donald, whom he beat on third extra hole Watch
Zurich Classic of New Orleans Bubba Watson 5 Rallied from three-shot deficit at start of day then won in playoff after reaching par-5 18th in two with 7-iron from bunker 210 yards away Watch
Wells Fargo Championship Lucas Glover 5 Glover parred last three holes of regulation then saw Jonathan Byrd birdie 18th to force playoff; Glover won playoff with par Watch
PLAYERS Championship K.J. Choi 5 It will be remembered more for how David Toms lost -- missing a 3-foot par putt in a playoff -- than Choi's birdie-par finish in regulation to force overtime Watch
Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial David Toms 4 Lost a seven-shot lead in the third round but closed with a 67 to break five-year drought a week after a playoff loss at TPC Sawgrass Watch
HP Byron Nelson Championship Keegan Bradley 3 Closed with a 68, then waited for the playoff which he won with relative ease after Ryan Palmer found the water on the first extra hole Watch
Memorial Tournament Steve Stricker 2 Led by three with five to play but bogeyed the 15th and relied on his putter for clutch saves at the next two holes for the two-stroke win Watch
FedEx St. Jude Classic Harrison Frazar 4 Had made just four cuts and was contemplating job change before beating Robert Karlsson on first playoff hole Watch
U.S. Open Rory McIlroy 1 Majors shouldn't be this easy but the eight-shot win was impressive after his Masters collapse Watch
Traveler's Championship Fredrik Jacobson 4 Swedish vet only made one bogey all week as he picked up first TOUR trophy for his kids Watch
AT&T National Nick Watney 3 Made 10 birdies and an eagle on the final 27 holes while dropping no shots to par to win by two Watch
John Deere Classic Steve Stricker 4 Squandered five-stroke lead in final round but made 25-footer for birdie at 18 to win te tournament for the third straight year Watch
Viking Classic Chris Kirk 4 Led by one through 54 holes, birdied 17 to break a tie and tapped in from 3 inches the final hole for first TOUR win Watch
British Open Darren Clarke 3 Took the lead for good on the seventh hole and still won by three despite bogeys on his last two holes Watch
RBC Canadian Open Sean O'Hair 4 After playing 'horrific' in the pro-am, O'Hair hung tough and beat Kris Blanks with a bogey on the first playoff hole Watch
Greenbrier Classic Scott Stallings 4 No 59s this year but the rookie birdied the 18th and the first playoff hole to beat Bill Haas and Bob Estes Watch
Reno-Tahoe Open Scott Piercy 4 Led by three at start of final round but needed clutch par at the 18th for one-shot win Watch
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Adam Scott 3 When all was done, the wire-to-wire leader had to share limelight with his caddy Watch
PGA Championship Keegan Bradley 5 Triple bogeyed the 15th on Sunday but rebounded to force -- and win -- playoff with Jason Dufner Watch
Wyndham Championship Webb Simpson 3 Led entering the final round and won for the first time with relative ease in front of family and friends Watch
The Barclays Dustin Johnson 3 Pulled away to a two-shot win over Matt Kuchar after a tight battle and a 29 on the front nine Watch
Deutsche Bank Championship Webb Simpson 5 Birdied the 72nd hole and both playoff holes to outlast Chez Reavie and win for second time in three weeks Watch
BMW Championship Justin Rose 5 Nearly squandered a five-stroke, 54-hole lead but chipped in for birdie at the 17th on Sunday to beat John Senden Watch
TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola Bill Haas 5 With $10 million and the FedExCup on the line, Haas saved par from the water at No. 17 to beat Hunter Mahan in a playoff Watch
JT Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Kevin Na 4 Tied entering the final round but he birdied 15-17 to pull away from Nick Watney and win first TOUR event Watch
Frys.com Open Bryce Molder 5 Needed a 64 to get in the playoff and went six holes with Briny Baird before winning for first time Watch
The McGladrey Classic Ben Crane 4 Playoff victory over the red-hot Webb Simpson came one day before wife delivered third child by c-section Watch
CMN Hospitals Classic Luke Donald 5 Knew he had to win the tournament to win the money title and he got the job done with six straight birdies on back nine Watch
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