Junction City, Ore. -- Kyle Thompson made a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole of regulation to finish the tournament at 17 under par and force a playoff with Matthew Jones and Jon Turcott at the Oregon Classic presented by Kendall Auto Group. Thompson, who shot back-to-back 67s on the weekend, then made birdie on the second playoff hole for his second win of the 2007 season.

In what has been a feast or famine year for the 28-year-old, Thompson has made nine cuts in 23 events, but has made the most of his weekends with six top-25 finishes including wins in Oregon and at the Rex Hospital Open.

"It's been a crazy year," Thompson said. "I have two wins, and a bunch of top 25s. So I either miss the cut or I finish top 25. Ideally, that's the way to do it. So you have some weekends off. I had one year on tour out here where I made 17 cuts, but only $67,000. That drives you crazy because you are playing so well and not cashing in on the weekends."

With the victory Thompson moves from No. 27 on the money list and into The 25 at No. 7. With $229,668 in earnings this year, Thompson has all but guaranteed himself the PGA TOUR card that has eluded the University of South Carolina graduate for the past four years. Those numbers sounded might nice to a player who has narrowly missed out on the PGA TOUR two of the last four years.

"It's such a relief and a weight off my shoulders," Thompson said. "Back-to-back years I came about $5,000 short of earning my card. The year I finished 22nd on the money list, I three-putted on the final hole of the Tour Championship to lose my card. But everything happens for a reason. I firmly believe in that."

He came painfully close in 2003 -- teeing it up in the Nationwide Tour Championship in the 20th spot only to finish 25th. Things were even tougher the following season. Despite six top-10 and two runner-up finishes, he ended the year No. 22 on the money list. A combined $10,803 is all that separated Thompson from his ultimate goal -- coming up $5,955 short in 2003 and $4,848 shy in 2004.

Thompson becomes the third multiple winner of 2007. Nick Flanagan has won three times this year earning an instant promotion to the PGA TOUR where he will make his debut at this week's Turning Stone Resort Championship. Tour money-leader Roland Thatcher has also won twice in 2007.

Thompson now joins Thatcher in his attempt to also earn an instant promotion with one more victory of the final six tournaments of the season.

Turcott and Jones didn't make it easy on Thompson. Jones recorded his first bogey of the day on the 17th hole, but responded by making birdie on 18 to earn a spot in the playoff. Turcott, looking for his first career Nationwide Tour victory, needed a birdie on the 541-yard, par-5 18th to win the tournament outright. After his second shot found the greenside bunker, Turcott's third flew over the green. An up-and-down from there put the 26-year-old University of Wisconsin graduate in the playoff.

On the first playoff hole, Turcott's drive caught a tree limb and he was forced to punch out into the fairway. Jones and Thompson each reached the green in two and made their two-putts for birdie. Turcott nearly jarred his 15-foot birdie attempt, but a par left him with a tie for second, his career best on the Nationwide Tour.

On the second extra hole, Thompson hit another perfect drive, while Jones missed the fairway to the left. Jones put his second shot just off the left side of the green, while Thompson hit a 4-iron into a greenside bunker on the right. Thompson played a beautiful sand shot to four feet while Jones chip left him about 20-feet for birdie. The Australian just burned the edge for his par putt while Thompson made birdie for his victory.

With his third runner-up finish of the year, Jones moves No. 10 on the money list and also will likely be on the PGA TOUR next season.

Following his victory earlier this season at the Rex Hospital Open, Thompson joked that it was important because it would enable him to pay for his engagement ring for his fiancee Emmi Nakatsu. With a wedding planned for December, Thompson said that this win means they will spend their honeymoon in Hawaii when the two travel to play in the Sony Open next year on the PGA TOUR.

Final-Round News & Notes: Roland Thatcher tied for sixth for his sixth top-10 finish of the season. Thatcher became the first player this year to surpass $400,000 in earnings with $401,632 and now leads No. 2 Nick Flanagan by more than $30,000. ... It was the third playoff in Oregon Classic history and the fifth playoff of the 2007 season. ... The scoring average for the tournament finished at 71.356, the second-lowest in tournament history second to the 2001 average of 71.007. ... The tour travels to Boise, Idaho, for next week's Albertson's Boise Open.

Copyright 2007 PGA.com. All rights reserved.