Perks wins in dramatic finish

A champion no one knew. A finish no one can forget.

Ranked No. 203 in the world, Craig Perks might have been the only guy who thought he could win The Players Championship, such a brutal test that no one has ever picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the $6 million tournament regarded as golf's fifth major.

Even he could not have scripted the ending Sunday.

Perks capped another day of high drama with an eagle-birdie-par finish, the final stroke a chip-in from thick rough behind the 18th green that brought him a theatrical victory, the richest payoff on the PGA Tour and an unlikely trip to the Masters.

``The way golf is now on this tour, guys are breaking a lot of rules, a lot of records,'' Perks said of his two-stroke victory over Stephen Ames.

He broke all the rules in the book.

Perks made only two pars over the final 14 holes. He missed two par putts that were inside 2 feet. Then, he chipped in twice over the final three holes, one of them for eagle that gave him a one-stroke lead, another on the 18th just when it looked as though he threw it all away with a questionable decision off the tee.

``You're unbelievable,'' defending champion Tiger Woods told him at the trophy presentation. ``Absolutely unbelievable''

The 35-year-old from New Zealand closed with an even-par 72, a score that doesn't even begin to reflect his wild adventures on a firm, punishing TPC at Sawgrass.

``That was the easiest 72 I ever shot in my life,'' Perks shot back with a smile.

The amazing finish began when Perks hit 4-iron from 199 yards on the par-5 16th, a shot that nearly derailed his hopes when it came within a few feet of going into the water. From a thick collar of rough, he pitched in from 21 feet for eagle.

``I'm an aggressive player,'' he said. ``I wasn't going to back away from that flag.''

He handled the next test with ease, finding land on the island-green 17th and holing a 28-foot birdie putt for a two-stroke lead over Ames, who closed with a 5-under 67 some three hours earlier.

Breathing room? Forget it.

Instead of playing it safe off the tee, Perks hit driver over the rough and behind the trees. After debating whether to thread a punch shot through the trees, he pitched out to the fairway.

``It was a tough chip getting back to the fairway, but I didn't want to get myself in further trouble,'' he said.

Then, he got into more trouble, going over the green and into the rough.

Needing to get up-and-down for bogey to avoid a playoff, with a chip from 29 feet to a green that sloped away from him, Perks lofted it perfectly. He raised his wedge as the ball trickled into the cup, then threw down his cap and set off the celebration.

``As soon as it landed, I knew I had won,'' he said. ``That was an incredible emotion.''

Perks, who finished at 8-under 280, became the first player since Hal Sutton in 1983 to win The Players Championship in his first try.

Even more remarkable is that he strung together his dramatics after missing a 2-foot par putt on the 15th hole that dropped him out of a share for the lead. Instead, he showed amazing resiliency and no quit, traits that belong to winners of The Players Championship.

``I pride myself on never giving up, and I think that showed today,'' he said.

Perks won $1,080,000, but the perks don't stop there.

A former club pro in Louisiana while trying to get his tournament career started, Perks earned a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour, three years of invitations to the Masters, a four-year exemption to the British Open and trips to the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

Ames was the only player within eight shots of the lead who broke 70, but nerves only hit him after he was finished. All he could do was watch as Perks bogeyed No. 12 to fall out of the lead, birdied No. 13 to regain the lead, then bogey the next two holes.

``All of a sudden, I've got a one-shot lead and he's got three of the toughest holes to play,'' Ames said. ``Then I heard a big roar on 16.''

Rocco Mediate, who lives on the TPC at Sawgrass, did his best to make it interesting by holing a 10-foot eagle putt on No. 16 to get to within one stroke of the lead. He had two long birdies chances, but couldn't convert and finished third after a 73.

Carl Paulson, the 54-hole leader by one shot over Perks, bogeyed four straight holes on the front nine and closed with a 77 to finish at 284, along with Sergio Garcia (71), Scott Hoch (72), Billy Andrade (72) and Jeff Sluman (74).

Woods failed to become the first repeat winner in The Players Championship. He didn't make a birdie until the 10th hole and finished with a 74, the first time he has been over par in the final round since the Nissan Open two years ago.

Given the swirling winds and brown patches on the dry, firm greens, Woods had a feeling that 6- or 7-under par might be enough.

``I just wasn't able to get off to a good, solid start today and post some birdies,'' he said. ``I made my share of mistakes.''

Ames finished his round three hours before the final group, but the wait could have been a lot more comfortable had he avoided an adventurous finish.

From the middle of the fairway, Ames blocked his approach right of the green, stopping in a clump of rough near the cart path. He tried to play it off a mound that feeds into the green, but it came out hot and went into thick rough behind the green.

He escaped with a bogey by holing a 13-foot putt, then spent the next three hours with his two children, chipping and putting, and finally moving to the range to hit full shots in case of a playoff.

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