Maggert a dramatic winner of Match Play

The chip-in for birdie was the kind of shot Jeff Maggert had been looking for all day.

The result was something he had been chasing for more than five years.

No longer the player who could never close the deal on Sunday, Maggert earned a new reputation Sunday that was worth far more to him than $1 million.

With the grit of a proven winner and a chip-in that brought the Match Play Championship to a stunning conclusion, Maggert beat Andrew Magee on the 38th hole to win the richest prize in tour history against the toughest field ever assembled.

A hard-luck runner-up 13 times since 1993, Maggert is the comeback champion of match play.

"You don't have to ask me what it feels like to finish second this week," he said.

With such a dramatic finish, the absence of Tiger Woods, David Duval or any other of the big names in golf was soon forgotten.

From the first cut of rough behind the par-3 11th, Maggert left the pin out and sent the ball on its way. It rammed into the back of the cup and disappeared, and Maggert showed more emotion than he has all week, hopping across the green and thrusting his arms into the air.

"I've been around this game a long time, and I've seen a lot of things good and bad happen," Maggert said. "I knew if I could hang in there long enough, something good could happen. And something did."

It was the first time Maggert had the lead since the fourth hole, a fitting tribute to a player who had to come from behind in five of his six matches this week at La Costa Resort.

Maggert is now 7-1 in match play as a professional, and the $1 million is more than he has ever earned in any of his eight previous seasons on the PGA Tour.

Magee, a four-time winner but not since 1994, earned $500,000 for the biggest check in his career. Still, it was a bitter ending for the 36-year-old full of quips. He took the lead on the fifth hole in the morning round of 18 and had three birdie chances to keep the match from going extra holes.

This meant more than money to Maggert, who was clearly frustrated by five years of coming in second. He was the runner-up in Houston last year when Duval shot a 64 on the last day to win, and he blew a chance to win the U.S. Open at Congressional in 1997 with a bogey and double bogey down the stretch.

He has either had the lead or been within five strokes of it 37 times in his career, but managed to squeeze out only one victory. And even that one -- the Disney Classic in 1993 -- carries a peculiar note. They had to set up floodlights to beat the darkness, making Maggert the only player to win a tournament at night.

"I knew in my heart I would win another tournament," Maggert said. "Hopefully, I'll win a lot more."

The match looked like it might go on forever until Maggert's deft touch on the 20-foot chip.

"That chip at No. 11 was something I needed, the one shot I was looking for to get me going," he said. "Thank God it came on the last hole.''

He had the pin removed to help him concentrate on the speed. Having struggled with 5-footers all day, the last thing he wanted was another one.

"Lo and behold, I hit it too hard," he said. ``I figured if it hit the hole, it would slow it down enough to give me a short par putt. Even when it hit the hole, I didn't think it was going down. I've been waiting 5½ years for something like that."

The victory moves Maggert past Duval atop the money list, earned him his first trip to the winners-only Mercedes Championship since 1994 and gives him a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

In the consolation match, John Huston was 6-under through 14 holes for a 5 and 4 victory over Steve Pate.

The $400,000 for Huston is the largest paycheck in his career, surpassing the $360,000 he earn from winning the Disney Classic in October. Ditto for Pate -- he got $300,000 topping the $270,000 he got for winning the CVS Charity Classic last year.

The inaugural World Golf Championship, and the first official match-play event in 14 years, could not produce the marquee names everyone hoped for in the finals, but the drama was no less than if Woods, Duval or Ernie Els had survived all of their matches.

"If people had put blinders on and thought we were Tiger and David Duval, they wouldn't have known the difference," Magee said.

They were all square after Maggert made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 13th, and the match stayed that way to the end as the pressure or match play began to take its toll. Both left their approach short on the 15th with a wedge in their hands, and each of them had their chances on the final three holes at La Costa known as "The Longest Mile."

-- Magee had an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th that went 6 feet by, and he suddenly had to make that knee-knocker to keep the match even.

-- Maggert just missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th. Magee had the same line from 15 feet, but whipped off his hat with surprise when it rippled over the right lip.

-- Maggert had a 12-footer to win the match on the 18th, and turned away in anguish when it grazed the edge.

"The ending was classic," Magee said. ``I even enjoyed it a little bit, being the weirdo that I am. It's a day I'll never forget. This week is the best I've had on tour. I'll remember this more than my wins."

With dew still glistening on long grass in the rough and steam rising from the ponds on a chilling morning, Maggert won the first two holes when Magee missed putts of 6 and 4 feet, only to see Magee win the next four holes -- three with birdies, including a wedge to 6 inches on No. 6.

Magee, joking with the gallery and giving high-fives to his 7-year-old daughter, never trailed again until he congratulated Maggert on his victory.

He should have known what to expect.

In 127 holes since Wednesday, Maggert trailed 48 of them. He also trailed in all but one of his six matches, the exception a 1-up victory over Bernhard Langer in the third round. He came back from two holes down to Woods in the quarterfinals, and three down to Pate with seven to play in the semifinals.

"There's going to be a lot of doubters," Maggert said. ``But I don't care what they say. This is a good win for me. I knew I would get here eventually."