Phil Blackmar, returning from golf oblivion and surviving a double-bogey on No. 17, birdied the first hole of a playoff with Kevin Sutherland to win the Houston Open on Sunday.
Blackmar, 39, of Corpus Christi, whose last victory came in 1988 and who lost his playing card in 1994, had finished no better than 20th this year, and came into the tournament 96th on the money list.Sutherland, 32, of Sacramento, Calif., who has been to qualifying school three times, had a chance to win in regulation, but his 45-foot downhill putt for birdie on No. 18 came up well short.
Blackmar, meanwhile, had his drive wind up in the right rough and his second shot found a bunker. His chip got to about 6 feet and he rattled it in for par to force the third straight playoff in the tournament.
In the playoff, which began at No. 18, Blackmar put his second shot to 3 feet from the pin while Sutherland was about 15 feet away. Sutherland's birdie attempt was short and to the left. Blackmar's went in the heart of the cup, giving him the $288,000 first prize, his biggest ever and more than he's ever earned since joining the tour in 1984. It was his third career victory, all of them in playoffs.
Both players, who were tied at 10-under heading into the final round, shot 2-under 70 on Sunday to finish at 12-under 276.
Steve Elkington, the tour money leader this year with $1.06 million, finished third, two shots back, after a closing 7-under 65 had put him in contention for his third victory of the year.
Scott Hoch and Hall Sutton were another shot back at 9-under 279, with Lanny Wadkins and Jerry Kelly next at 281.
Blackmar had a two-shot lead going into the par-4 17th, one of the toughest holes on the PGA Tour. But his third shot, from the rough across the back left of the green, went into the water. He salvaged a double bogey, while Sutherland had a par.
Sutherland had a bogey on the second hole, but made a move with birdies on Nos. 4 and 5. A bogey at the par-3 eighth hole dropped him to 10-under, and when Blackmar birdied No. 9, they were tied heading into the back nine.
Blackmar had five straight pars before a bogey at the par-5 sixth hole, but regained the shot with a birdie at No. 9.
Then, tied with Sutherland at 10-under, Blackmar made a charge on the back nine, with a stretch of four birdies in five holes.
LPGA Titleholders
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A television camera crew finally broke Tammie Green's concentration 89 yards from the 18th hole, asking her if she had a message for her family back home in Ohio.
She had found the determination to hold off some of the best players on the LPGA Tour. She had shown a brilliant putting stroke that saved so many crucial pars in conditions that tested her focus.
But she couldn't find words to describe how it felt to win again.
Green hit her wedge to 2 feet for a birdie, ending a three-year victory drought with a two-stroke decision Sunday in the $1.2 million Sprint Titleholders Championship.
"I just got a lump in my throat," she said. "I was fighting back tears to hit that shot. I had a lot of emotions going, anyway. So, my concentration was real good all day."
Green shot a par 72 to finish at 14-under 274. Two-time U.S. Open champion Annika Sorenstam closed with a 66 and was at 276. Defending champion Karrie Webb and former LPGA Championship winner Kelly Robbins were another stroke back.
"It was difficult out there," said Green, who led after all four rounds and won $180,000. "I knew I had to grind it out. I looked up at the leaderboard a few times and saw Annika and Karrie coming up after me."
It was Green's first victory since the Youngstown-Warren LPGA Classic in her native Ohio in 1994, and it comes a year after she had emergency surgery to remove an ovarian cyst.
"After last year, not really being able to have the strength to play full tournaments, it was sort of frustrating," she said. "And to be able to get rid of some of that frustration, knowing that I could win again ... I just feel like it's going to be a plus for the rest of the season."
It was an appropriate tournament to end the drought for Green - she won the green jacket that traditionally goes to the Titleholders champion, and she won with a brilliant performance on the greens.
She needed only 24 putts Sunday and finished with 108 putts overall.
"I just felt comfortable with the putts all week," she said. "After I made a few, I felt like I could make everything."
She needed all of them Sunday, even though most of them were for par.
Green returned to the windswept LPGA International Course early Sunday to complete the third round, which had been delayed by storms and suspended by darkness.
She birdied the 18th to take a two-stroke lead over Kris Tschetter heading into the final round, then protected her advantage over a difficult stretch of holes by making five straight one-putt pars.
Bruno's Senior
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) - Playing in the same group and protecting a lead against the Senior PGA Tour's hottest player didn't bother Jay Sigel.
He blew away Hale Irwin and everybody else Sunday, shooting a 2-under 70 to finish at 11-under 205 for his first victory of the year in the Bruno's Memorial Classic.
Sigel came in with a four-stroke lead over Irwin and quickly showed he wasn't fazed by playing with Irwin, who was going for his third straight title and fifth overall this year.
Sigel opened with a par, eagled the second hole and birdied No. 5 to open a seven-stroke lead over Irwin on the blustery Greystone Country Club course.
He won by three shots over Gil Morgan, five over Isao Aoki and six over Bob Eastwood. Irwin shot a 3-over 75 and finished 2-under, nine strokes back.
"I enjoyed playing with Hale. He's our best player right now," Sigel said. "But I had to play the golf course today. If Hale beats me, that's fine, but I had to do what I had to do and let everything else fall where it may."