Scott Verplank shot a final round 67 for a three-shot win at the Canadian Open.

It seemed like Verplank would cruise to victory before he took a six at the par-four 16th hole, allowing old friend Bob Estes to creep within a shot.

But Verplank showed great resilience to come through.

Shortly after Estes closed his round with a bogey at the par-4 18th, Verplank birdied the par-3 17th for a three-shot cushion.

After missing the 18th fairway with his drive, he saved par with a 25-foot putt to seal victory.

"I played really nice, up until a couple of those little shaky moments," he said. "But sometimes you're supposed to win. Sometimes you get the breaks and you win."

It was the fifth career title and second in just over a year for Verplank, the 1998 Comeback Player of the Year who has overcome a serious elbow injury and diabetes to become one of the best golfers in the world.

Estes, who played golf with Verplank when they were teenagers, said his fellow Texan would be one of the top five players in the world if not for his ailments.

As it is, Verplank entered the week ranked 26th in the world.

"You know, when I was 21 years old, I was probably one of the 10 best players," said Verplank, 37, who won the 1985 Western Open as an amateur and the 1988 Buick Open.

This week, Verplank had to overcome an opening-round 70 to finish with a four-round total of 14-under 266 at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.

Estes tied with Joey Sindelar for second at 11-under 269, a shot better than John Daly, who continued his resurgence after winning the European Tour's BMW International Open last week.

Daly was within a shot of the lead early in the day, along with Estes, Sergio Garcia of Spain, David Morland IV of Canada and Australian Paul Gow.

Playing in the final pairing with Verplank, Gow gained a share of the lead with three successive birdies approaching the turn. But that's as close as anyone got to overtaking Verplank.

"I didn't really watch the board too much," Verplank said.

Estes made the last run, chipping in for birdie at the 12th to close within two shots. He also two-putted for birdie at the par-5 13th to get within a stroke, but got no closer.

"I have been chasing him since I was a teenager, and I'm still chasing him," said Estes.

"But I think I'm getting closer. I scared him a little out there."

Scores:

266 S Verplank 70 63 66 67

269 B Estes 69 65 67 68, J Sindelar 66 69 69 65

270 J Daly 66 74 64 66

271 S Garcia (Spa) 69 68 65 69, P Gow (Aus) 67 67 66 71, D Morland IV (Can) 69 63 73 66

272 R Allenby (Aus) 70 68 69 65, D Berganio 69 68 69 66, KJ Choi (Kor) 67 68 69 68, M Gogel 65 67 71 69, D Hart 69 68 71 64, M Muehr 65 70 68 69

274 F Allem (Rsa) 70 71 67 66, B Faxon 70 67 69 68, JJ Henry 72 68 66 68, D Pride 67 64 69 74

275 L Donald 71 69 68 67, B Gay 70 71 65 69, I Leggatt 70 71 65 69, M Sposa 70 69 71 65, S Stricker 67 68 69 71

276 S Appleby 72 67 66 71, F Funk 69 68 70 69, J Haas 73 68 67 68, P Johansson (Swe) 68 72 67 69, N Price (Zim) 69 69 70 68, B Tway 69 72 66 69, T Woods 65 73 69 69

277 O Browne 70 68 71 68, R Freeman 71 66 73 67, M O'Meara 66 68 72 71, J Sluman 73 68 64 72

278 S Elkington (Aus) 68 69 72 69, R Gamez 70 70 70 68, J Green 68 70 76 64, G Hnatiuk (Can) 69 70 67 72, J Julian 68 68 73 69, L Mattiace 68 71 67 72, S Micheel 70 67 66 75, S Pate 69 69 70 70, M Weir (Can) 68 69 69 72

279 R Black 68 70 71 70, M Carnevale 68 71 70 70, J Coceres (Arg) 73 64 69 73, D Gossett 71 68 68 72, D Hammond 69 71 73 66, J McGovern 65 73 68 73, S McRoy 69 69 67 74, J Parnevik (Swe) 71 67 74 67, W Wood 71 67 72 69

280 J Edwards 74 66 70 70, S Randolph 69 68 65 78, K Yokoo 68 70 69 73

281 S Alker 68 73 71 69, J Brehaut 70 70 73 68, N Lancaster 72 69 71 69, J Leonard 71 70 70 70, A McLardy 69 71 67 74, J Smith 70 71 67 73

282 J Carter 70 71 72 69, C Kresge 73 67 71 71, C Tidland 70 70 68 74

283 M Hulbert 73 67 70 73, C Perks 72 65 71 75, a-G Paddison 70 67 72 74

284 B Bates 72 68 70 74, S Jones 68 67 72 77, S Simpson 71 70 71 72

285 H Slocum 70 67 76 72

286 JL Lewis 69 72 72 73, B Watts 72 68 75 71

288 R Coughlan 72 68 70 78

289 G Ogilvy (Aus) 72 67 72 78

290 D Gillespie 67 74 70 79

293 K Wentworth 69 71 76 77