Larry Mize has a little last-minute holiday shopping to do.
"I guess I ought to get Greg Norman a present," Mize said Sunday after winning $550,000 for his 10-shot triumph in the $2.8 million, season-ending Johnnie Walker Championship.If it weren't Norman, Mize wouldn't have made the elite 28-man field for this ambitious event that is self-billed as the World Championship. He got in as an alternate three weeks ago when Norman, the British Open champion, withdrew.
Mize, 35, for 12 seasons a journeyman on the American tour, made the most of his unexpected opportunity.
After establishing a three-shot lead after three rounds, he ran away from the field with a 6-under-par 65 Sunday over the final 18 holes. He did not make a bogey and did not have a "5" on his card.
"That's as good as I've ever played. The other guys will kill me if I don't say that. I won't soon forget this round today," Mize said after completing four rounds over the Tryall Club course in 266, 18 under par.
"I'm second and I'm 10 shots back. That's hilarious," Fred Couples said following a 65 that included nine birdies and a double-bogey 7.
His 276 total was good for second when Masters champion Bernhard Langer of Germany dropped out of a tie with a three-putt bogey on the final hole. Langer had a closing 69 for 277.