THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Davis Love III was hungry for any type of victory. He got one, and a $1 million paycheck.
Although the Williams World Challenge is a made-for-TV event, Love was delighted to win it, overcoming front-runners Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia by shooting an 8-under 64 on Sunday.
Woods shot 69 to finish two shots back in second, and Garcia had a 73 for third, five shots behind Love.
"It's nice to win since it's been a while. Obviously this was not a 150-man field, but it was a good field. There was the added tension when guys like Sergio and Tiger are leading," said Love, who hasn't won on the tour in more than two years.
Starting the final round at Sherwood Country Club four shots behind Garcia and three back of Woods. Love, who also had a 64 on Friday, finished at 22-under 266.
Woods shot a 69 to go 20 under, and Garcia had a 73 to finish third at 17 under.
Love's putts were falling, something that didn't go his way when he shot a third-round 71.
As Woods and Garcia hovered around par for the final day, Love birdied three holes on the front, then made a 5-footer for birdie to move in front for good on No. 10.
He sank a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 No. 11, added birdies with a 2-footer at No. 13 and a 10-footer at No. 15, then parred out to wrap up a bogey-free round.
"I said yesterday that Davis was playing well but not making any putts, so I knew that he would be there. But I didn't really expect him to shoot a 64," said Garcia, who had held or shared the lead with Woods since shooting a 65 the first day and a 64 the second.
Love has 13 career titles on the tour, including the 1997 PGA Championship. He hopes the win in the Williams World Challenge, which had an elite field of 12 players, is a sign of a comeback.
"Hopefully this will carry over to next year," he said.
Woods, like Garcia, wasn't surprised that Love won.
"At least I made it interesting with a few birdies, but Davis just had it going," Woods said. "He has been playing well, and he will be able to get over that hump.
"He shot two 64s; that says something."
PGA QUALIFYING: Orem's Keith Clearwater put himself in good position to earn a spot on next year's PGA Tour after carding his second straight 66 Sunday in the PGA Qualifying tournament at La Quinta, Calif.
After five days of the grueling six-round tournament, Clearwater is tied for 13th at 18-under-par 342. The top 35 finishers earn their cards as exempt players on the 2001 PGA Tour.
Among other local players, former BYU golfer Richard Zokol is tied for 69th at 351, and Ogden's Jimmy Blair is tied for 141st at 3-over-par 363. Another former BYU golfer, Rick Fehr, withdrew after the third round.
Besides the top 35 finishers earning their PGA Tour status, the next 50 finishers are exempt on the Buy.com Tour.