Even before he was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, Mark James had golf in perspective.
"Golf wasn't exactly life or death for me," he said.
Becoming the first European to win a major on the Champions Tour isn't going to change that.
The former Ryder Cup captain shot a 1-over 73 and held off Jose Maria Canizares for a one-stroke victory Sunday at the Senior Players Championship in Dearborn, Mich.
James finished at 13-under 275.
The first of James' two operations for testicular cancer was in October 2000. James said he didn't feel like himself until the middle of 2002.
"It's been a dream, really," James said.
For the second straight day, he caught a break when a competitor collapsed.
Canizares had double bogeys at Nos. 14 and 17 in a 1-under 71, finishing at 12-under 276.
"I'm very disappointed," the Spaniard said. "I double-bogeyed two holes and that's the difference."
In the third round, Dana Quigley was the co-leader with James until he ruined a strong round with a quadruple bogey at the par-5 17th.
Bruce Fleisher (71) finished third at 11 under, and Bruce Lietzke (71) was fourth, another stroke back.
Gary McCord (74) and Quigley (72) tied for fifth at 9 under. Quigley played in the 250th consecutive event he has been eligible for since 1997, and 235th in a row overall.
The TPC of Michigan played much differently on Sunday than it had the three previous days, perhaps the toughest the relatively easy course has been.
"The course started off as a friendly little fellow and turned into a ruthless menace," James said.
With heat and humidity in the mid-80s, sunbaked greens turned brown and hard.
Andy Bean's 68 was the only round in the 60s Sunday, two days after 25 players had sub-70 rounds.
"I think these guys watched Shinnecock," said McCord, who was a player instead of a CBS analyst on the weekend. "They got what they wanted, but it might have gotten a little away from them at the end. You went from green grass to varnish."
James became the sixth player — and third straight — to make the Players Championship his first Champions Tour victory.
He played in seven Ryder Cups from 1977-95, was Europe's captain in 1999 at Brookline, and won 22 tournaments overseas. James last victory was at the 1997 Peugeot Open De Espana.
"This is the biggest win of my career, without question," he said. "To win a major, it's incredible."
The Champions Tour rookie finished third at the Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am last month, and tied for fourth at the Senior PGA Championship in May.
James opened with three strong rounds — a 68 and two 67s — and played just well enough to win the over-50 circuit's second major of the season and first of three straight.
"I'm lucky that I suddenly produced my best golf of the year here this week," he said. "That's the sort of luck some people get occasionally, and during my regular career, I don't think I ever quite got that click during a major."
Defending champion Craig Stadler finished 3 under, tied for 18th. He started strong with rounds of 70 and 67, but closed poorly, shooting 73 and 75 on the weekend.
JOHN DEERE CLASSIC: At Silvis, Ill., Mark Hensby tapped in for par on the second playoff hole at the John Deere Classic, finally breaking through for his first career victory. Hensby shot a 66 to finish at 16-under 268, and got the victory when John Morgan hit his drive on the par-3 16th far left of the green. Jose Coceres was third at 15-under 269 and Greg Chalmers finished two shots back in a tie for fourth with last year's champion Vijay Singh (67), Steve Stricker (68) and Joel Kribel (65).
CANADIAN WOMEN'S OPEN: At Niagara Falls, Ontario, Meg Mallon completed her North American double, running away to win the Canadian Women's Open a week after winning the U.S. Women's Open. Leaning heavily on her sharp putting stroke, Mallon shot a final-round 2-under 70, finishing with an 18-under 270 to win $195,000 at Legends on the Niagara Battlefield course. Defending champion Beth Daniel finished second, four strokes back, after shooting a final-round 70.
SCOTTISH OPEN: At Luss, Scotland, Thomas Levet matched the lowest round of his career, an 8-under 63 that gave him a one-shot victory in the Scottish Open. Along with his first victory in three years, the Frenchman earned an unlikely trip to the British Open. Defending champion Ernie Els closed with a 68 and tied for third.