MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Only eight men have won a PGA event the week before a major championship. No one has won on tour, then gone onto victory at a U.S. Open.

Lee Westwood now gets his chance to be the first do just that. He gave himself a chance to join the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson when he birdied the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday to beat Swede Robert Karlsson at the St. Jude Classic.

It was just the Englishman's second PGA Tour victory and first since 1998 to go with his 20 career European Tour wins.

"I like being competitive before a major championship, to be competitive with the tournament and boost my confidence," Westwood said.

He became the first European to win in Memphis in the tour's third-longest event dating back to 1958. The opportunity to win came when Robert Garrigus blew a three-stroke lead on the 72nd hole of regulation with a triple-bogey to set up a three-way playoff. Garrigus bogeyed the first hole.

Westwood beat Karlsson with a 6-foot birdie putt after the Swede's 43-footer came up short, then celebrated by dropping his putter and pumping his fist in the air. A nice win for someone who finished second at the Masters, lost a playoff in Dubai and tied for fourth at the Players Championship earlier this year.

"You try to do the right thing all the time," Westwood said. "It doesn't always work for you. I've been in contention a lot, especially this year, and I suppose I got a break today with other people's misfortune but made the most of it."