Denis Poroy / AP

Tiger Woods hoists the winner's trophy after his playoff victory at the Buick Invitational on Sunday. Woods won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff when Jose Marie Olazabal missed 4-foot putt.

Green, who briefly had a two-shot lead after his eagle on No. 13, had five consecutive putts in the 8-foot range, all for par except the last one, which gave him a 72 and put him in the playoff.

“There’s nothing to be disappointed about,” Green said. “I’ve been an overachiever for the week.”

Woods was one shot behind when he hit 5-wood into 75 feet on the 18th, only to see his eagle putt run too fast through the break, 8 feet by the cup. It was the longest putt he made all day.

He had a putt from about the same distance on No. 18 on the first playoff hole, but pulled it badly.

Two players were inches away from joining them in the playoff.

Lucas Glover had a 65-foot eagle putt on the 18th that was headed for the center of the cup, but stopped just short. In the same group, Arjun Atwal left himself a 5-footer for birdie, but he pushed it right of the cup.

Woods skipped the season-opening Mercedes Championships, and for those who didn’t think the PGA Tour began until he showed up, the No. 1 player was part of a terrific show.

When he holed an 8-foot birdie on the 12th to reach 9 under, eight players were tied for the lead. Anyone could have won. Every shot mattered.

John Rollins came out of nowhere by holing a wedge from 119 yards for eagle on the 10th, and making a 60-foot birdie putt on the 14th. Phil Mickelson looked like a winner with one of those majestic flop shots on the 11th that cleared the bunker by a foot and set up an unlikely par save.

Slide show Coming up aces A look at golf’s hot stars, on and off the course more photos

Lefty looked like a prophet over the final five holes. He had said his game was rounding into form, with putting the final piece for it all to come together. Sure enough, he missed par putts of 5, 6 and 5 feet on three straight holes to fall out of contention, closing with a 73.

Jonathan Kaye birdied his last five holes to post at 9 under, and wasn’t free to leave Torrey Pines until Olazabal coaxed his eagle putt within 2 feet for a birdie on the 18th.

It was the second time in three years that the winner failed to break par in the final round on the South Course, which played at 7,630 yards on Sunday and will host the U.S. Open in two years.

But if such a demanding course was meant to separate those at the top of their games, instead it created a leaderboard so jumbled throughout the final round that a dozen players could have won.

Slide show   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

Sergio Garcia, playing in the final group with Woods for the first time since the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage, hit into five bunkers and a beer tent on his first eight holes and went out in

40. He hung around to the final hole, needing an eagle to get into the playoff, but three-putted for par and a 75.

Rod Pampling, tied with Garcia for the lead after 54 holes, shot a 76 to finish three shots out of the playoff.