New Zealand's Frank Nobilo said he couldn't have picked a better place for his first-time successful defense of a championship.
"Unbelievable," he said Sunday after overcoming a four-shot deficit with a 6-under-par 66 to win the Sarazen World Open Championship for the second year in a row on a bright, sunny day."It's a special feeling," he said. "This is the first time I have ever defended a tournament, and to do it here - I am speechless."
Nobilo overtook third-round leader Scott Hoch with an 8-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole, and stretched the lead to two shots when he sank a 5-footer for another birdie at No. 14. His lead swelled to the final margin of four shots when Hoch took a double bogey-6 on the 17th.
Nobilo's 72-hole score of 272 bettered by one the tournament record set by Ernie Els in the inaugural Sarazen event two years ago.
"I just played great all day," Nobilo said. "My focus today was brilliant. I hit all the key shots right. I can't believe it was me, that was all."
His $342,000 first prize lifted his winnings to $718,600 in the three tournaments played at the hilly 6,967-yard The Legends course at Chateau Elan, a resort about 50 miles north of Atlanta.
The 36-year-old native of Auckland, who now lives in Surrey, England, had finished fourth in the Masters and eighth in the PGA Championship this year, having earned just over $262,000 in eight appearances on the PGA Tour.
He ranked 23rd on the PGA European Tour this year, claiming victory in the Deutsche Bank event.
Hoch earned $205,000 after closing with a 74.
"Today it just didn't happen," Hoch said. "My long irons weren't very good. I didn't have it, didn't have it at all. I was lucky to keep is as close as I did."
He was surprised at the way he played.
"I felt good," Hoch said. "I really did not feel that anybody was going to catch me."
Two other Americans tied for third at 278 - Payne Stewart with a closing 70 and Craig Stadler with a 71. Both players birdied the final hole.
Nick Price of Zimbabwe, a two-time PGA champion, claimed fifth place with a 69-279. Davis Love III and Mark Calcavecchia were deadlocked at 282. Angel Cabrera of Argentina, the 1995 Paraguay Open winner, was eighth at 68-283.
Nobilo played a bogey-free round, scoring three birdies on the front side with 1-foot putts on Nos. 4 and 9 and a 15-footer on No. 5. Hoch also birdied the ninth with a 7-footer and led by two shots at the turn.
Nobilo's 15-footer for birdie cut the lead to a shot on the 10th hole, where Hoch missed his 6-foot birdie attempt.
The twosome found themselves deadlocked at 14-under when Hoch caught a trap on the 12th, blasted out 18 feet past the cup and took a bogey-4.
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC
MILTON, Fla. (AP) - Lee Trevino sank a 35-foot putt for a birdie on the first hole of a five-way playoff - the biggest in Senior PGA Tour history - to win the $1.05 million Emerald Coast Classic on Sunday.
Trevino defeated Dave Stockton, Mike Hill, David Graham and Bob Eastwood who each shot par-4 on the 398-yard 18th hole during the playoff.
Stockton, who celebrated his 55th birthday Saturday, was two strokes ahead and had a chance to win in regulation. But he bogeyed the last two holes to create the tie at 3-under par 207 after 54 regulation holes.
"I still couldn't believe that I did what I did," Stockton said after the playoff. "I didn't try to do it. I didn't want to do it. It's just an unfortunate thing."
Trevino was already in the clubhouse and heading for the exit as Stockton played the 17th.
"I had my bag and my wallet in my hand," Trevino said. "All of a sudden I'm walking out the door and they said, `Wait a minute, he bogeyed the 17th.' I said, `He did what?"'
Trevino had given his hat and remaining balls to a sheriff's deputy working security at The Moors Golf Club.
"I said, `Listen, you've got to give me the balls back,"' Trevino said with a laugh. "I've got another hat."
It was Trevino's first victory this year but the 27th of his career on the Senior Tour, the most of any golfer, and came at the next-to-last event on the Tour. It also kept alive a streak of at least one win in each of the last seven years for Trevino.
The $157,753 in prize money boosted his winnings for the year to $636,753 and for his senior career to $6,689,649, retaking the career senior lead from Bob Charles.
It was the second playoff in as many years that the tournament has been in existence. Ray Floyd won a two-hole playoff last year against Tom Wargo.
Trevino started the day three strokes behind second-round leaders Dave Eichelberger and Larry Gilbert and shot a 2-under-par 68 to win a place in the playoff.
It was chilly in the 60s under sunny skies in the Florida Panhandle. But blustery winds, which had ballooned second-round scores, moderated Sunday on the nearly treeless, Scottish-style par-70, 6,719-yard course,
This year's money leader, Hale Irwin, finished in a four-way tie for sixth place, missing the playoff by one stroke. Jim Dent, Jay Sigel and Rocky Thompson tied with Irwin at 2-under par 208.
Irwin's $35,700 prize brought his earnings to $1,572,894 and increased his money lead from $40,804 to $66,004 over second-place Jim Colbert who finished tied with two other golfers for 24th at 3-over par 213.
Colbert, however, isn't out of the chase yet. He is the defending champion in next week's season-ending Senior Tour Championship with a $1.5 million purse in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Floyd, winner of a rain-shortened inaugural Emerald Coast last year, finished in a six-way tie for 37th.
JAPAN QUEENS CUP
INASHIKI, Japan (AP) - Laura Davies lost in a playoff to Mayumi Hirase, but took the LPGA money lead by passing Karrie Webb on Sunday in the Toray Queens Cup.
Hirase, a co-leader entering the final round, forced the sudden-death playoff with a final-hole birdie en route to a 72 for 4-under-par 212.
The victory in the $750,000 LPGA regular-season finale was worth $112,500.
Davies, with her payoff of $69,819, surpassed Australian rookie Webb, who finished 35th after a closing 72. Davies leads with earnings of $897,302. Webb has earned $852,000 with only the decisive Tour Championship remaining later this month.
Davies, starting the final round four shots behind Hirase and American Maggie Will, eagled the par-5 18th hole en route to a bogey-free 68.
In the playoff, the long-hitting Briton tied Hirase with a birdie on the first hole, the par-5 18th, and a par on the second, the par-4 16th.
The contest ended with Davies missing a 3-foot par putt that grazed the hole before swerving to the right on the 17th. Hirase sank a shorter putt for the victory.
Japan's Hiromi Kobayashi, the first-round leader, finished third with a 72-213, followed by American Barb Whitehead, who carded a 70-214.
Two-time defending champion Ko Woo-soon of South Korea had a 73, and wound up tied for 46th position.
DUNHILL MASTERS
HONG KONG (AP) - Germany's Bernhard Langer won for the first time in 13 months, carding a 6-under-par 65 to win the $500,000 Dunhill Masters by two strokes Sunday over South Korean Kang Wook-soon.
Langer, whose last win was at the European Open last fall in Ireland, said the victory justified his faith in a long-handled putter. He used it for only the fourth time, and wound up 17-under at 267.
"Obviously it has been a long time, and it is nice to win a tournament with the long-handled putter," said Langer, who earned $94,735. "I think there is a future for the big stick."
Kang finished with a 66, earning $53,685.
Australian Scott Laycock, who went into the final round with a two-stroke lead, wound up another shot behind after a closing 71. That was one stroke better than Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit, who carded a 70.
South African Ernie Els finished sixth, seven shots back after a 68.