Slocum and Steve Stricker, tied for the lead, both hit into fairway bunkers and couldn't reach the green. Slocum raised both arms when his par putt broke gently back to the left and disappeared into the cup.
Stricker had a 10-foot par putt to force a playoff, and cringed when it caught the left lip. He closed with a 69.
Ernie Els (66) and Padraig Harrington (67) also finished one shot behind Slocum. Els had his clubs loaded into the trunk of his car when he heard the cheers for Woods' approach to the 18th green. Then came a groan when Woods missed, followed by news that Slocum and Stricker were in trouble off the tee. Before long, Els was on the driving range warming up for a possible five-way playoff that never happened when Slocum made the biggest putt of his career.
Slocum qualified for these playoffs with two points to spare - he was No. 124 out of 125 players who advance to this postseason bonanza.
"That's what it's all about," Slocum said. "I was sweating it out last week. I didn't even know if I'd be here. I came in here with the attitude that I had nothing to lose."
Slocum finished at 9-under 275 and earned $1.35 million for his third career PGA Tour victory, and first in 4 years.
In other tournaments:
* Rookie M.J. Hur, of South Korea, hit a 6-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole of the Safeway Classic in North Plains, Ore., to beat Suzann Pettersen for her first LPGA victory.
* Second-round co-leader Loren Roberts birdied the final two holes to win the Champions Tour's Boeing Classic title in Snoqualmie, Wash. Mark O'Meara had led by a shot until a bogey on 16. Roberts shot a 7-under 65 in the final round and set a tournament record at 18 under.
* Florida high school student Byeong Hun-An, 17, defeated Clemson senior Ben Martin, 7 and 5, in the 36-hole final for the U.S. Amateur championship in Tulsa, Okla. He is the youngest amateur champion in tournament history, which dates back to 1895.
