PALM HARBOR, Fla. — The greens were so crusty, firm and scary fast that Retief Goosen felt as though he was back at Shinnecock Hills, where his putting carried him to victory in the U.S. Open.

Needing only two putts from 25 feet to win Sunday, he was thankful it didn’t turn out like Southern Hills.

Goosen ran his putt 5 feet past the hole, steadied his nerves and curled in the par putt for a one-shot victory at the Transitions Championship, his first victory on the PGA Tour in nearly four years.

“It was great to see that putt go in,” Goosen said. “The greens got scary. Down those last few holes, they were definitely getting like Shinnecock was. You just cannot hit them soft enough. It was really tough.”

Goosen closed with 1-under 70 to avoid a playoff with Brett Quigley and Charles Howell III, an Augusta, Ga., native who can only return to the Masters with a victory.

Both had a birdie putt in the groups ahead of Goosen to catch him. Both ran it well past the hole and made it coming back.

“You’re in the back of the tub trying to stop it short of the drain,” Quigley said describing the putt they all had.

Equally famous in Goosen’s career was a three-putt bogey from 12 feet on the final hole at Southern Hills, which nearly cost him the 2001 U.S. Open until he won it the next day in an 18-hole playoff.

“It was disappointing to hit it that far past. I didn’t want to have another U.S. Open there,” Goosen said. “I felt good with my putting, and there wasn’t too much indecision with the one coming back. It was nice to see it go in.”

Howell was tied for the lead with four holes to play, but made two straight bogeys and shot a 69 for his best finish since he won at Riviera two years ago. He will have to win at Bay Hill or the Shell Houston Open to avoid missing the Masters for the first time since 2002.

“If Retief’s 5-footer lipped out, I wouldn’t have cried,” Howell said. “That golf tournament means more to me than anything.”

Quigley, now zero-for-342 in his 13 years on the PGA Tour, was bogey-free on the back nine and shot 68 for his second runner-up finish in as many weeks.

Former Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman, trying to become the seventh player in his 50s to win on the PGA Tour, did not make a birdie until a long putt on the 17th hole, and he shot a 75 to tie for eighth.

Goosen won twice in the fall in South Africa and Asia, but this was his first PGA Tour victory since he won the now-defunct International in August 2005.

“Eventually, you wonder if you can still do it,” Goosen said.

Also on Sunday:

Hurst pulls off win in Mexico

HUIXQUILUCAN, Mexico — Pat Hurst shot a 4-under 68 to beat top-ranked Lorena Ochoa and Yani Tseng by one stroke at the Mastercard Classic. Hurst sank a long putt on the 18th green at the tough BosqueReal Country Club to finish at 10-under 206. Top-ranked Ochoa (69) had three bogeys and six birdies, and Tseng (70) had three bogeys and five birdies.

Goya wins Madeira Islands Open

PORTO SANTO, Madeira Islands — Argentina’s Estanislao Goya won his first European tour title, holding off Scotland’s Callum Macaulay by a stroke to capture the Madeira Islands Open. The 20-year-old Goya started the day three shots ahead and closed with a 2-over 73 to finish at 6-under 278. Macaulay, ranked No. 1,009, equaled a course record with a 64 in which he birdied eight of the last nine holes.