SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. — Jim Thorpe has a new favorite golf hole — the 18th at the Countrywide Tradition.
Thorpe rolled in a 5-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole there Sunday to win the season's first major on the Senior PGA Tour over cigar-smoking buddy John Jacobs, who missed a 3-footer that would have forced another hole of play.
"It was a wonderful finish," Thorpe said. "If this doesn't help the golf ratings, I don't know what will."
Thorpe, 53, won his first major, senior or otherwise, and he can thank the par-5, 553-yard 18th hole on the Prospector course at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club. In the last two days, he had an eagle and two birdies there.
Thorpe chipped in from the bunker there for an eagle to pull within a shot of Jacobs for the third-round lead Saturday, then forced the playoff with a birdie on the 18th Sunday after an approach shot that landed 18 inches from the pin.
"That hole was very kind to me," Thorpe said.
The two outgoing players, who often chat with people in the crowd and joke with each other, finished at 11-under-par 277. Thorpe closed with a 70, and Jacobs had a 71.
"We both have plenty of money, but we had fun out there," Jacobs said. "That's what this tour should be about."
Utah's Bruce Summerhays shot a 68, but missed a 5-foot birdie putt that would have tied him for the lead on the 18th. He tied for third with Bob Gilder at 10-under 278.
Tom Watson, switching to a cross-handed putting grip a third of the way through his round, shot a 68 to finish at 8-under 280, one shot ahead of tour money leader Hale Irwin.
It was the second playoff in three years at the Tradition and fourth in the tournament's 14-year history. Two years ago, Tom Kite won a playoff with Larry Nelson and Watson.
MEDIATE WINS AT GREENSBORO — Rocco Mediate, holding his nerves together while battling 30 mph wind gusts, shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday for a three-stroke victory over Mark Calcavecchia in the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic.
Mediate finished with a 16-under 272 total for his fifth victory on the PGA Tour and first since the 2000 Buick Open. He also won at Forest Oaks Country Club in 1993, beating Steve Elkington in a playoff.
The $684,000 top prize jumps Mediate's 2002 earnings to $1.487 million and from 21st to sixth on the money list. His total is a career high, topping last year's $1.474 million.
Calcavecchia, who shot a 72, finished second despite matching the tour record for fewest putts in a 72-hole event. Kenny Knox also had 93 in the 1989 MCI Heritage Classic.
But Calcavecchia's putting was somewhat deceiving because he hit just 50 percent of greens in regulation over the four-day tournament, meaning he had plenty of short chips and shots from the fringe.
Steve Jones had a hole-in-one on No. 4, hitting a 6-iron from 185 yards. It was the 12th ace on tour this season. There were 27 last year.