Rookie Jonathan Byrd emerged from the pack to claim his first PGA Tour victory today, shooting a career-low nine-under-par 63 for a one-stroke victory over David Toms at the Buick Challenge.

The 24-year-old Byrd had two eagles on the back nine and six birdies on a memorable day at Callaway Gardens Resort.

He overcame a late bogey and finished with a 72-hole total of 27-under 261.

Although he began the day just two strokes off the pace, the diminutive Byrd was a stunning first-time champion, having placed in the top 10 just twice in his first 31 career starts.

There have been a record 17 first-time winners on the PGA Tour this season.

Byrd did not qualify for next week's Tour Championship but jumped more than 50 places into the top 40 on the money list with over 1.37 million (£883,000).

Toms, ranked seventh in the world, carded a seven-under 65 to finish alone in second at 26-under 262. He played the last 12 holes in seven-under but needed a birdie at the 18th to force a play-off but could only manage a par.

Collated final-round (USA unless stated, par 72):

261 Jonathan Byrd 67 66 65 63

262 David Toms 66 68 63 65

265 Phil Mickelson 65 67 70 63

266 Robert Allenby (Aus) 67 71 63 65, John Huston 68 67 61 70, Craig Parry (Aus) 67 64 66 69

267 Joey Sindelar 69 68 65 65, Stewart Cink 69 66 65 67, Kenny Perry 68 68 66 65

268 Carlos Franco (Par) 66 71 67 64, Billy Andrade 67 69 66 66, Tim Herron 63 68 65 72

269 Chris Riley 68 66 69 66, Jeff Sluman 70 67 70 62, Chris Smith 69 66 63 71

270 Paul Gow 67 70 67 66, John Rollins 70 67 67 66, Jay Williamson 67 69 68 66, J.L. Lewis 68 66 67 69, Davis Love III 70 69 64 67

271 Ben Crane 65 70 66 70, Duffy Waldorf 68 68 70 65, Olin Browne 69 69 64 69

272 Tim Clark 69 67 69 67, Kent Jones 67 69 66 70, Lee Janzen 66 70 71 65, Rocco Mediate 65 72 65 70

273 Tim Petrovic 69 68 68 68, Chad Campbell 69 65 70 69, Joel Edwards 68 70 67 68, Fred Funk 71 68 69 65, Bob May 65 70 72 66

274 Matt Gogel 67 70 71 66, Jeff Brehaut 71 67 70 66, Notah Begay III 72 66 66 70, Glen Day 70 67 72 65, Stuart Appleby (Aus) 68 70 66 70, Dan Forsman 70 69 71 64, Skip Kendall 70 69 66 69

275 John Riegger 70 69 67 69, Ian Leggatt (Can) 73 64 67 71, David Gossett 65 72 69 69, Vijay Singh (Fij) 68 67 71 69, Jim Carter 71 68 69 67

276 Jeff Gove 71 68 67 70, Kenneth Staton 68 69 71 68, Matt Kuchar 71 68 67 70, Brandt Jobe 70 68 69 69, Robert Damron 69 69 68 70, Pat Bates 67 71 70 68, Jay Don Blake 71 67 71 67, Greg Kraft 67 72 68 69, Frank Lickliter II 66 72 68 70

277 David Berganio Jr 67 70 68 72, Lee Porter 70 68 70 69

278 Luke Donald (Gbr) 70 69 67 72, Michael Long 65 72 73 68, Woody Austin 67 71 67 73, Scott Dunlap 70 69 72 67, David Duval 73 65 69 71, Len Mattiace 69 67 72 70, Scott McCarron 66 71 74 67, David Peoples 67 70 73 68

281 Curtis Strange 68 71 69 73, Brad Faxon 67 72 69 73

282 Jerry Pate 68 68 74 72

283 Pat Perez 70 67 72 74, Matt Peterson 71 68 71 73

285 Mike Sposa 70 69 72 74