Jeff Sluman's first victory in 19 months gave his best friend the experience of a lifetime.
Sluman won the Greater Milwaukee Open on Sunday with Rick Bruder, a non-golfer serving as a caddie for the first time in his life."He was really, really nervous out there," Sluman said. "He probably kept me relaxed. I was kind of laughing inside at how nervous he was."
Bruder saw his buddy get his third career PGA Tour victory.
"He is on cloud nine. It has been a wonderful week," Sluman said.
Sluman bogeyed No. 18 for a 3-under-par 68 and a 19-under 265 total, beating Steve Stricker by one stroke.
"The golf course wasn't really giving up a lot. When I got to 20 under, I figured I was in pretty good shape unless I screwed up bad," Sluman said. "Eighteen certainly wasn't an artistic success, but I ended up with a check and that is all that really matters."
Sluman, 40, won the 1988 PGA Championship and 1997 Tucson Classic.
Stricker, from nearby Madison, made it interesting.
He began the final round one stroke behind co-leaders Sluman and Chris Perry and climbed back into contention with birdies on the final four holes, duplicating what he did Saturday.
"I wanted to win so badly," said Stricker, who also shot a 68.
Sluman eagled No. 6. He holed a 20-foot chip from the heavy rough, punching his left hand in encouragement as the ball bent slightly left and rolled into the center of the cup.
He led the rest of the way.
"Chipping in from there really adds a lot of momentum to your round," he said. "From there it just started rolling and I felt pretty comfortable."
On No. 5, a par 3, Sluman chipped in from 45 feet.
Stricker, who became a father for the first time last Monday, had said that winning what amounts to his backyard tournament would be "more special" to him than any other. His wife, Nicki, was his caddie until becoming pregnant.
Although trailing by three strokes, Stricker got a standing ovation from the crowd as he walked up the 18th fairway.
Perry closed with a 71 to tie for third at 268 with Mark Calcavecchia and Nolan Henke, who both shot 69s.
Perry, a Minnesota product whose father Jim pitched for the Twins, Cleveland, Detroit and Oakland, is winless since joining the tour in 1984.
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC: Dana Quigley made a 33-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to beat Jim Colbert by one stroke in the Emerald Coast Classic at Milton, Fla., his second victory on the Senior PGA Tour.
Quigley finished with a 5-under-par 65 and a 10-under 200 total. Colbert closed with a 66 and finished one stroke ahead of Leonard Thompson, who shot a 69. Defending champion Isao Aoki (72) finished tied for fourth with Hale Irwin (69), David Lundstrom (69) and Bob Duval (67) at 203.
LPGA SAFEWAY CHAMPIONSHIP: Danielle Ammaccapane shot an even-par 72 for a 12-under 204 total, holding off Emilee Klein by one stroke to win the LPGA Safeway Golf Championship in Portland, Ore. It was Ammaccapane's second victory of the year - she won the Mercury Titleholders Championship in May.
Klein (70) failed in her bid to win her first title since the 1996 British Women's Open. Ammaccapane's younger sister, Dina (66), was third at 207. Kris Tschetter (65) had the day's best round and finished tied with Erika Wicoff (70) at 208.
EUROPEAN MASTERS: At Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland, Germany's Sven Struver beat Sweden's Patrik Sjoland on the first playoff hole to win the European Masters. Struver, who began the day four shots behind Sjoland, clinched the title with a pressure-packed 4-foot birdie putt at the tricky par-4 18th.
Struver shot a final-round 5-under 66 for a 263 total, while Sjoland, the leader after three rounds, struggled to a 70. Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke rallied with a 4-under 67 to finish third at 265.