AVONDALE, La. — Bubba Watson has been working on becoming a better man.

He figures he’s probably a better player because of it.

Earlier in his career, a double bogey in the middle of a hotly contested final round might have knocked the combustible Watson off his game.

Not anymore.

Watson overcame a three-stroke deficit over the final eight holes of regulation and beat Webb Simpson in a playoff Sunday in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for his second PGA Tour victory of the year and third of his career.

“My wife, my caddie and my trainer would say my attitude’s in the right spot,” Watson said. “This week, I won (by) not getting down on bad shots, just staying focused on what I’m supposed to be doing.”

He also had a little luck.

It came in the form of a bad break for Simpson, who remained winless on the PGA Tour and was left to wonder what might have been if not for an unusual one-stroke penalty on 15 when his ball moved as he was addressing it on the green, less than a foot from the hole.

“I better limit my comments on that rule, because I think it’s such a bad rule,” said Simpson, who seemed to think windy conditions, combined with relatively dry, hard greens, caused the ball to move. “When the wind or other natural things affect the golf ball, the player shouldn’t be penalized. … It was just unfortunate, but Bubba deserves a win, and I’m pretty happy for him.”

Watson, also the winner at Torrey Pines in late January, matched Simpson with a 3-under 69 to finish at 15-under 273 at TPC Louisiana. Both players birdied the 18th on the first extra hole, with Watson making a 12-foot putt to force the second playoff.

Watson opened the final playoff hole with a 329-yard drive that narrowly stayed out of the water and landed in a fairway bunker. He hit his second shot — a 7-iron — 210 yards to the green on the 568-yard, par-5 18th.

Simpson’s second shot landed in a bunker short of the green, near the lip, and he blasted out to 12 feet.

After Simpson narrowly missed his birdie putt, Watson made a 3-foot birdie putt for the victory, which earned him $1,152,000 and moved him up from No. 16 to No. 10 in the world.

K.J. Choi, the 2002 Zurich winner, shot a 69 to tie for third at 13 under with Jason Dufner (66) and Tommy Gainey (69). Choi was 14 under after 16 holes, but three-putted for a bogey on the par-3 17th and narrowly missed a birdie putt on 18.

Also on Sunday:

Teen falls, Hjorth wins LPGA Classic

MOBILE, Ala. — Maria Hjorth took advantage of Alexis Thompson’s collapse in a failed bid to become the youngest LPGA Tour winner, rallying to win the Avnet LPGA Classic for her fifth tour title. The 37-year-old Swede shot her second straight 5-under 67 to finish at 10-under 278, two strokes ahead of Song-Hee Kim (71). The 16-year-old Thompson, tied for the lead with Kim entering the round, had a 78 to drop into a tie for 19th at 1 under.

Westwood earns second straight win

SEOUL, South Korea — Top-ranked Lee Westwood rallied to win the Ballantine’s Championship for his second straight victory, shooting a 5-under 67 to beat Miguel Angel Jimenez by one stroke. Westwood, the English star who won the Asian Tour’s Indonesian Masters last week to regain the No. 1 spot in the world, finished at 12-under 276 at Blackstone Resort in the event sanctioned by the European and Asian tour and Korea PGA. The 47-year-old Jimenez parred the final nine holes for a 71.

Qualifier wins Nationwide event

VALDOSTA, Ga. — Monday qualifier Ted Potter Jr. won the South Georgia Classic for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-stroke victory over Mathew Goggin. Potter, the first Monday qualifier to win since Kyle Reifers in the 2006 Chattanooga Classic, had a tournament-record 16-under 272 total on the Kinderlou Forest Golf Club course.

Australian takes 10th Japan Tour title

TOGO, Japan — Australia’s Brendan Jones won The Crowns for his 10th Japan Tour title, beating South Korea’s I.J. Jang with a 6-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff. Jones closed with an even-par 70 to match Jang (68) at 9-under 271 on the Nagoya Golf Club course.