Tom Watson won a closest-to-the-pin
playoff with a tee shot that stopped 6 feet, 2 inches from the hole, leading
his team of Dottie Pepper and Graham Marsh to victory today in the Gillette
Tour Challenge.
Watson, Pepper and
Marsh each won $165,000 in the third annual event that features eight teams
made up of players from the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and Senior PGA Tour.
In a best-ball format
at Mid Ocean Golf Club, Watson made an eagle on the 15 as his team went
7-under par over the final eight holes to finish at 12-under 59 and get
into the playoff against Jeff Sluman, Nancy Lopez and Dana Quigley.
"We were only 4-under
after 10, and then we put on the afterburners," Watson said. "We had a
powwow on 14 and decided that we could shoot some birdies and win this
tournament, and that's what we did."
The playoff was a
closest-to-the-pin on the 208-yard 17th hole. Sluman hit his tee shot 12
feet from the hole. He, Lopez and Quigley each won $105,000 from the $1.95
million purse.
"We went to sleep
in the middle of the round, but Tom got everyone together and told us we
could win this thing," Marsh said. "That's what great players do."
John Daly picked
up his biggest check of the year -- $60,000. He played with Karrie Webb
and Hugh Baiocchi and tied for fifth.
ABC Sports will televise
the tournament Nov. 28. Gillette will present a $1 million donation to
the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the official charity of the
LPGA Tour.
Also, one Gillette
consumer will be randomly chosen to attempt a 10-foot putt during the telecast
that will be worth $2 million if it goes in -- $1 million to the winner,
and an additional $1 million to the Komen Foundation.
