Short, who started the week 176th on the money list and battling to finish in the top 125 to secure his card for next season, scooped a first prize of $720,000 and a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
It was truly a Cinderella week for the 41-year-old Short, who only gained entry to the $4 million event following Arron Oberholser’s withdrawal.
After the two players parred the first playoff hole, Furyk sent his tee shot into the water at the par-three 17th to open the door for Short who found a greenside bunker.
Short, though, blasted out of the sand to within 18 inches of the cup to leave a routine putt for par.
He had staged a rally over the final regulation holes to force the playoff, picking up an eagle at 16 and holing a nine-foot birdie putt at 18 to record a six-under 66 for a 21-under total of 266 at the TPC at Summerlin.
Furyk, who won earlier this season at the Western Open, had two eagles on his card but a bogey at the last gave the 2003 US Open champion a seven-under 65.
Ted Purdy (71), who held a three-shot lead with nine to play, dropped out of contention with a triple-bogey at the 17th. He finished in a tie for third place with Harrison Frazar (69) on 19-under 268.
Leading final round scores:
266 — Wes Short Jr (US) 67, 67, 66, 66; Jim Furyk (US) 66, 66, 69, 65.
268 — Harrison Frazar (US) 68, 63, 68, 69; Ted Purdy (US) 67, 65, 65, 71.
269 — Charles Howell III (US) 63, 69, 67, 70. 270 Nick Watney (US) 67, 67, 70, 66; Shigeki Maruyama (Japan) 65, 65, 72, 68.
271 — Briny Baird (US) 62, 66, 78, 65; Will MacKenzie (US) 65, 69, 70, 67; Hidemichi Tanaka (Japan) 66, 68, 68, 69; Steve Lowery (US) 67, 68, 64, 72.
272 — Davis Love III (US) 68, 67, 71, 66; Daniel Chopra (Sweden) 70, 67, 70, 65; Stephen Leaney (Australia) 67, 67, 69, 69; Ryan Palmer (US 62, 72, 68, 70.
273 — Rod Pampling (Australia) 67, 64, 74, 68; Ryan Moore (US) 67, 63, 74, 69; John Daly (US) 68, 67, 70, 68; Ben Crane (US) 67, 65, 72, 69; Tom Pernice Jr (US) 65, 68, 70, 70; Bart Bryant (US) 64, 66, 73, 70; Bo Van Pelt (US) 70, 66, 67, 70; Geoff Ogilvy (Australia) 65, 69, 67, 72; Scott Gutschewski (US) 64, 71, 67, 71.
274 — John Senden (Australia) 66, 66, 73, 69; Scott Verplank (US) 70, 66, 69, 69; Lee Janzen (US) 66, 69, 70, 69; Kevin Sutherland (US) 67, 67, 70, 70.
275 — Jason Gore (US) 65, 70, 71, 69; Fred Funk (US) 67, 68, 70, 70; Joe Durant (US) 66, 70, 71, 68; Olin Browne (US) 67, 65, 75, 68; Phillip Price (Britain) 68, 66, 68, 73; Jeff Sluman (US) 67, 69, 66, 73.
MADRID: France’s Raphael Jacquelin won the Madrid Open by three strokes on Sunday despite a spirited challenge by former British Open champion Paul Lawrie.
Jacquelin’s first European Tour title at his 238th event came with a closing two-under-par 69 for a 23-under-par 261 four-round total and a 166,660 euros ($200,000) first prize.
Scotland’s Lawrie, who began the day eight strokes behind the Frenchman, shot a 64 to finish three adrift.
Leading final round scores:
261 — Raphael Jacquelin (France) 64, 64, 64, 69.
264 — Paul Lawrie (Britain) 68, 66, 66, 64.
266 — Darren Clarke (Britain) 64, 67, 68, 67; Anders Hansen (Denmark) 67, 69, 66, 64.
267 — Ian Woosnam (Britain) 69, 65, 68, 65.
268 — Jose Manuel Lara (Spain) 67, 69, 68, 64; Jose-Filipe Lima (Portugal) 66, 66, 67, 69
269 — Gregory Bourdy (France) 69, 68, 67, 65; David Lynn (Britain) 69, 69, 65, 66; Colin Montgomerie (Britain) 72, 66, 65, 66.
270 — Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 72, 64, 66, 68.
271 — Robert-Jan Derksen (Netherlands) 67, 69, 66, 69; James Kingston (South Africa) 71, 66, 68, 66; Stuart Little (Britain) 67, 66, 68, 70; Andrew Marshall (Britain) 70, 68, 65, 68; Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 67, 69, 70, 65; Wade Ormsby (Australia) 70, 70, 65, 66; David Park (Britain) 68, 67, 67, 69.—Reuters