MASON, Ohio — Jim Thorpe came to the 546-yard 18th hole needing an eagle to force a playoff with Tom Jenkins in the Kroger Senior Classic on Sunday.
After a perfect tee shot left him 245 yards from the green, Thorpe hit a 3-wood within a foot and made the putt for a 3.
"I could hit a million golf balls and never duplicate that," Thorpe said. "Sometimes we do get lucky."
Jenkins had a 7-under-par 63 in the final round, and Thorpe matched his first-day 65 to finish at 130, which was 10 under par in the rain-shortened 36-hole event. The $1.5 million tournament was cut to two rounds because of heavy rains Friday.
Thorpe and Jenkins went back to the 18th tee to start the playoff. Jenkins outdrove Thorpe by 10 yards, but Thorpe put his second shot on the left apron, while Jenkins landed in the deep rough to the right of the green.
"It was enough club," Jenkins said of his 5-wood. "It just wasn't one of my better swings of the week."
Jenkins chunked his third shot short of the green and needed a chip and a putt to save par. Thorpe rolled his third shot within a foot of the hole and this time tapped in for a birdie and the win.
It was the third Senior PGA Tour win for Thorpe, who also won three PGA Tour titles in the 1980s.
Dana Quigley shot a 66 to finish two strokes back. Hale Irwin, John Schroeder, Bruce Summerhays and Don Pooley were at 134.
"Winning never comes easy," said Thorpe, whose victory was his first this year. "Tom Jenkins' 63 was magnificent and probably should have won the golf tournament."
Jenkins came within inches of winning the tournament outright. His second shot at 18 in regulation just missed the hole for what would have been a double-eagle. He missed a comeback putt from 12 feet and tapped in for birdie for the career-low 63.
"I had several opportunities to close it out," Jenkins said. "When you have chances and leave it open, there is always a chance of a miracle shot like Jim hit."
Jenkins' only win on the PGA Tour was at the IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic in 1975. His next win came 24 years later at the Bell Atlantic Classic, when he beat Thorpe with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.
Thorpe and Larry Nelson led four players by one shot going into the final round. But Nelson faltered after a bogey on the 518-yard 4th hole, which he eagled on Saturday, and finished with a 71.
Jenkins started the day 3-under and had gained only one shot on par through the first eight holes. But he strung together four consecutive birdies starting at 9, and added another on 15 to pull away, then missed birdie opportunities on 16 and 17 and the eagle putt at 18.
"It was my tournament to win," Jenkins said. "I hit a great putt at 16 and left it short going downhill. I hit another great putt at 17 that broke right instead of left. I thought 10-under would win the tournament."
Thorpe went to 8-under on the front side of the 6,639-yard Grizzly Course at the Golf Center at Kings Island, then stalled. He bogeyed the par-4 11th to drop back to 7-under, then birdied 15 to get back within a stroke of Jenkins.
He missed a birdie opportunity on 17 but then got the eagle on 18 to force the playoff.