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Cam Davis has won his maiden US PGA Tour title in a thrilling playoff in Detroit, just hours after fellow Australian golfer Lucas Herbert won the Irish Open.

Cam Davis is savouring a win for the ages after bursting from the pack to complete a golden weekend treble for Australian golf with a thrilling maiden US PGA Tour victory at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

Davis finished eagle-birdie in a spectacular final-round 67 to force a three-man sudden-death playoff at 18 under, then held his nerve for almost an hour to triumph from third-round co-leaders Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann after five tension-filled extra holes.

"It's still so surreal for me. I've been in some good positions before, but to play the golf that I played coming down the stretch was just awesome," Davis said after breaking through in his 71st US PGA Tour event.

As Merritt repeatedly scrambled to save pars, Davis had several chances to win the playoff but couldn't buy a putt.

"It's been pretty hectic ever since the 17th hole for me," the 26-year-old said.

"It's just so hard to do when the pressure is on like that so I just kept on putting good swings on it.

"I guess I didn't make any putts (in the playoff) but I kept on putting it in play.

"So it worked out alright. I'm really, really happy with where I sit right now."

Davis joins fellow Sydneysider Matt Jones, Queenslander Cameron Smith and Victorian Marc Leishman as Australian winners on the lucrative American tour this season.

As well as the trophy, Davis collected a cheque for $US1.35 million ($A1.8 million) and rocketed from 81st to 34th spot in the FedExCup standings.

The surge puts the 2017 Australian Open champion in a strong position to make the 30-man field for the $US46 million ($A61.25 million) season-ending TOUR Championship.

After knocking on the door previously this year, Davis looked like having to settle for another near miss after reaching the turn in even par as a raft of players moved three and four shots clear.

But he burst to life with three successive birdies from the 12th to 14th holes.

Davis seemed to have missed his big chance after taking a bogey at the 16th, only to hole out from a bunker for his eagle on the par-5 17th.

"It's the only reason I'm sitting here now," he said of his miracle sand save.

"To be honest, in my head there wasn't a thought of trying to hole it.

"I was just trying to pick my spot and just hit another good bunker shot.

"Even when that went in, I still wasn't sure where I stood in the tournament and I still felt like I had to play aggressive down 18, but that definitely kept me in it, that one."

Still one shot behind, Davis birdied the last to make the playoff.

Returning to the 18th, he hit another laser-like approach but missed a five-footer that would have sealed victory on the first playoff hole, where Niemann was eliminated with a bogey.

Davis and Merritt both made pars on the second and third extra holes, then each birdied the par-5 14th in what was developing into an epic duel.

But Davis finally secured his life-changing win when Merritt was unable to get up and down after missing the green on the par-3 15th - the fifth playoff hole.

Davis's breakthrough triumph followed Lucas Herbert's three-stroke victory at the Irish Open hours earlier, and Sunday's Ladies European Tour win in the Netherlands for fellow Australian Steph Kyriacou.