DUBLIN, Ohio – Bart Bryant hit some dramatic shots yesterday at the Memorial, even if no one seemed to notice until an unlikely par on the final hole that gave him a one-shot victory over Fred Couples.

Bryant stole the lead from Couples with a 5-foot birdie on the 17th, then somehow escaped with par after his tee shot went into the hazard down the left side of the 18th fairway. He took a penalty drop, hit into 15 feet, and watched the putt catch enough of the left side of the hole to drop for a 4-under 68.

Couples, playing in the final group behind him, narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie on the 17th that would have tied Bryant, then flew his approach over the 18th green into deep rough, ending his hopes of winning.

Bryant, who finished at 16-under 272, earned $990,000 and now gets a day off. He was headed for Tampa, Fla., for a U.S. Open qualifier tomorrow, but his second PGA Tour victory in the last nine months gave him a spot in the field at Pinehurst no. 2 in two weeks, his first U.S. Open in 11 years.

More importantly, it validated him as a player who can close the deal.

Bryant, a 42-year-old whose career has been limited by injuries, won for the first time last year at the Texas Open, when the stars were busy playing in the Ryder Cup.

In a wild chase for the lead at muggy Muirfield Village, he emerged the winner with clutch putts along the back nine to overcome Couples.

“There were so many good players up there, I knew somebody would shoot 67 or 68 to win,” Bryant said. “I just didn’t know it would be me.”

Tiger Woods’s bid was stopped early by a double bogey at no. 8, and he wound up with a 68 to finish in a tie for third with Bo Van Pelt (68) and Jeff Sluman (72) at 12-under 276. The tie kept Woods from returning to no. 1 in the world.

For Couples, it was a rare chance to win on tour, and he let it slip away despite shots that sent the gallery into a frenzy at times.

“When you don’t play much, your short game kills you,” Couples said.

His 4-iron into the par-5 15th stopped six feet behind the hole, but he had to settle for birdie. Then he found the bunker on the 16th and failed to save par, a two-shot swing when Bryant made birdie on the 17th hole ahead of him. Couples couldn’t catch up, and his last hope was a chip on the 18th that ran 35 feet by. He made that for one last cheer, although it was only good for a 69 and second place.

“It’s huge,” Bryant said. “It’s a real honor to win here at Jack’s tournament. That was history in the making with what happened Friday, and I’m glad to be part of it.”

Nicklaus missed the cut on Friday and said it was likely his last PGA Tour event on American soil.

Bryant, despite so many injuries that slowed his career, appears to just be getting started.

Couples was poised to become the seventh multiple winner at Muirfield Village with dynamic shot making from that silky swing.

His wedge into the 11th stopped 2 feet for birdie, and his 8-iron on the par-3 12th spun back to 10 feet to give him the outright lead for the first time yesterday. Then came a 9-iron that stopped six feet behind the hole at the 14th, and the shot into the 15th that was as pure as it gets.

Bryant quietly kept pace.

He holed a slick 20-footer for birdie on the 14th, then got up-and-down from the bunker by making a 15-footer for birdie and failed to make any mistakes until his last shot – and even that worked out well.

His 3-wood bounced hard off the fairway and rolled all the way to the edge of the stream. Bryant could have stood in the water up to his knees, but elected to take a penalty drop.

It worked out perfectly.

David Toms, who played in the last group with Couples and was part of the four-way tie for the lead going into the final round, dropped back with a 74.

Bryant was a forgotten figure among those leaders, but he was the only one to play the back nine without a bogey. That was important, because as the leaders made the turn, 11 players were within three shots of the lead.

Separation came more from blunders than birdies.

Despite back-to-back bogeys, Toms was still in the mix until his approach found the creek right of the 14th green and he fell back with a double bogey.

Woods made eight birdies, enough to give him a chance to win the Memorial for the fourth time. But he made too many mistakes, starting with a double bogey on the par-3 eighth when his delicate flop didn’t reach the green and he rimmed out a 4-foot putt.

“I needed a couple more putts to go in and a couple less mistakes,” Woods said.