Pernice wins SAS on his first tour try

CARY -- Tom Pernice Jr. won his Champions Tour debut Sunday at the SAS Championship with a dramatic 36-foot birdie putt on the final hole, pumping his fist as the ball curled into the right side of the cup.

"An unbelievable finish," he called it.

But a putt 30 feet shorter midway through his round may have been nearly as important.

After flaring his tee shot into the water -- a 3-wood shot so bad it was startling -- to bogey the ninth hole, Pernice hit another poor drive and later faced a 6-foot par putt at the par-4 10th hole. With another bogey, who knows what might have happened.

But Pernice firmly rapped in the par putt. He then held off the challenge of seemingly a third of the field over the last eight holes at Prestonwood Country Club to finish with a 3-under-par 69 and 13-under 203 total.

"That putt at 10 settled me down," Pernice said. "It kept me in the ballgame a little bit."

And what a "game." Dan Forsman took the lead before falling back with two bogeys and a balky putter. Lefty Russ Cochran was in contention. Then, David Frost and Nick Price made runs on the back nine.

Frost, playing his second tour event, had eight birdies Sunday in his 67, and Price had a 68 to close at 204, a shot behind. Both were playing in threesomes ahead of Pernice, who took a one-shot lead into the final round in his bid to become the 15th player -- and the third this year -- to win his first Champions Tour event.

Pernice, who turned 50 on Sept. 5, birdied the 15th hole but then failed to birdie the short par-5 17th hole after a hooked drive. He walked to the 18th tee tied with Frost and Price at 12-under.

Frost had missed a 15-foot birdie putt at the 18th that would have given him the lead. Next came Price, who put his approach on the right fringe and missed a 20-footer for birdie.

Finally, it was Pernice's turn. A good drive and solid 7-iron approach at the 18th left him with an uphill putt.

"Twelve paces -- 36 feet," he said.

With Frost in the clubhouse and Price signing autographs nearby, Pernice lined up the putt. Price said he could barely see Pernice through the crowd but later said he wasn't that surprised or disappointed there wasn't a playoff.

"Sometimes," Price said, "it's in the lap of the gods."

Pernice, who won $315,000, was known on the PGA Tour as an outspoken type, even questioning the golf "god" who is Tiger Woods. During a 2005 tournament, Pernice asked a Tour official to inspect Woods' driver to see if it was legal (it was), and once called it a "disgrace" that Woods skipped the Tour Championship.

Pernice criticized the FedEx Cup playoff format. He caused consternation this year before the Buick Open when he said the PGA Tour tournament would be losing its sponsor, General Motors -- before any announcement.

But Pernice, who played college golf at UCLA and lives in Houston, showed Sunday that he can win. His bogey at the ninth hole was his only one of the 54-hole SAS Championship.

Pernice played 264 events on the PGA Tour before winning for the first time in the 1999 Buick Open, and his only other tour win came at the 2001 International. But he is 1-for-1 on the Champions Tour.

Pernice, who finally allowed himself a smile after the winning putt, noted there was a big party last weekend celebrating his 50th birthday and his daughter's 16th birthday.

An even bigger one might be coming soon.