Huston wins with closing 65

John Huston had stood on the 18th green on the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort plenty of times before. It had a different feeling today.

Huston made a 20-foot birdie on the final hole to complete a 6-under-par 65, good for a three-shot victory over Carl Paulson in the inaugural Tampa Bay Classic.

``There's no question that having the home crowd made a big difference,'' said Huston, who lives in the area and has played the course over 100 times. ``I just had good karma all week, and a lot of good things happened.''

Huston, who started the final round four shots behind Paulson, birdied the first three holes and three of the final four for a 5-under 30 on the back nine.

``I'm really happy with the way I putted, especially after starting off the day missing a 3 1-2-foot putt on the first hole,'' said Huston, who earned $432,000 for his sixth PGA Tour win and first in two years.

Huston took the lead with a birdie at 16 and finished the four-day event at 13-under 271.

``I didn't lose the golf tournament, just ran into a brick wall like John today,'' said Paulson, who was standing on the 18th tee when the gallery erupted over Huston's final birdie putt. ``I'm thrilled with the finish, but I'm disappointed I didn't win. Not much you can do about it, run into a guy that shoots 65 on Sunday.''

Paulson, who was bidding for his first PGA Tour win, bogeyed 18 and finished at 1-over 72. He started the final round with a two-shot lead over Len Mattiace.

It was career-best performance for Paulson, who won $259,200.

Mattiace and Frank Lickliter tied for third at 9-under 275. Mattiace, who had a 71, fell out of contention after a triple-bogey on No. 6 after he had shots wind up behind a big stick and a tree root.

``For that to happen was a major disappointment for me,'' Mattiace said. ``It just wiped me out.''

Joe Durant was fifth at 276. Brad Faxon had a 65 and finished tied for sixth at 277 with Lee Janzen and Steve Lowery.

``I was making a 4-5 birdies every day out here and making 3-4 bogeys,'' Faxon said ``You can't do that and shoot a low score. Today, I just said, `Play solid ... you've been playing well.'''

First-round leader Mike Hulbert carded a 69 and wound up tied for 33rd at 283. Fred Couples finished tied for 14th at 280 after a 70. Nick Faldo shot a 75 and finished tied for 66th at 290.

Jay Haas, who played alone in the first group, completed his 2-over round in two hours and finished at 294. Mark Brooks, who was 1-over after three rounds, withdrew because of a bad back.

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