Driscoll lost his chance at his first Tour win due to some putting woes. AP

Tim Petrovic was the last man standing at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Sunday. In a final round that had player after player dropping by the wayside as a result of faulty putting, Petrovic used his putter to seize the moment. He drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff with rookie James Driscoll, and then two-putted the first playoff hole to capture his first Tour victory.

Why Driscoll Lost

It was a great approach shot on the par-5 18th that left Driscoll with a five-foot birdie putt for the win, but he couldn't seal the deal. A couple of rookie mistakes that cost him the victory.

After Chris DiMarco ran his birdie putt past the hole to approximately five feet, DiMarco and Driscoll asked their playing partner, Tim Clark, to determine who was away. Clark said it was Driscoll.

Since Driscoll's putt was to win the tournament, he should have asked DiMarco to putt first. Although not a written rule, it's a rule of good etiquette for the potential winning putt to be the final one.

Since DiMarco already missed his chance at winning, Driscoll should have requested that DiMarco putt out. That would have shown that Driscoll had the confidence to make the winning putt. Instead, he seemed distracted because he wasn't allowed to have the final putt.

The second mistake? Don't ever leave the winning putt short. Since Driscoll missed the putt on the low side of the hole, that technically is a result of the ball not having the appropriate speed for the chosen line. From five feet, you'd better take the break out of the putt by hitting it solid enough.

Even CBS commentator Lanny Wadkins knew the grain was running from left to right and was going to influence the putt. So how does Driscoll not hit the ball solid enough to get it through the grain and into the hole? You have got to putt for the make! In the worst-case scenario, you hit the ball too hard and you're left with a two footer coming back.

Why DiMarco Lost

Sure, DiMarco made some mistakes on the back nine, but his chance to win the tournament came down to one shot, his fourth shot at the 72nd hole -- a 15-foot birdie putt from off the short cut of grass around the green.

It's no easy to calculate the speed of the putt going from a thicker grass surface to the tighter putting green surface, but I think DiMarco panicked by thinking that Driscoll was going to make his birdie putt.

Thus, DiMarco charged the putt and ran it by five feet, then missed the comebacker for par. He actually hit the birdie putt so hard that even if it were on line, it probably would have hit the hole so hard it might not have gone in.

I was taught that when you're putting from off the green, you simply want to get it close; if you want to hole it out, then you chip it. That's because when you're putting through thicker grass, the grass will have an easier time deflecting the ball off-line.

A better play for DiMarco would have been to chip the ball to control the landing and roll. It was obvious DiMarco anticipated that the thicker grass was going to slow down the ball; that's why he hit it so hard.

If DiMarco had made par on the last hole, his experience and a slight intimidation factor would have given him the edge against the lesser-experienced players in the playoff.

Rob Stanger, the head teaching pro at the Golf Academy at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, Calif., is recognized as a Golf magazine Top Teacher in America in the West Region. To ask questions or order his newly released Empowered Golf CD, contact him at robstanger.com.