MAUNA LANI, Hawaii -- A quick playoff meant quite a payoff for Gary Player.
Shut out through the first 18 holes, Player staged the biggest comeback in the history of the Senior Skins Game by making a birdie on the first playoff hole to win four skins and a $220,000 jackpot
Saturday.
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| Gary Player cashed in with birdies at the final four holes. |
Player won $10,000 more than Senior PGA Tour rookie Tom Watson. Jack Nicklaus finished third, banking $90,000 on four skins, while three skins were worth $80,000 to Arnold Palmer.
"I had great patience," Player said. "I came into this tournament thinking just have patience, even if it comes to the last hole. That patience paid off today."
Until the 16th hole, Player was not a factor in the four-man field.
Nicklaus eagled the first hole and birdied the seventh for four skins, Watson birdied the second and third holes for more two and Palmer birdied the fourth and ninth for four.
Watson appeared to be in complete control with a six-foot birdie on the 413-yard 14th to up his total to $210,000.
But Player started to gain momentum on the 368-yard 16th hole at the Mauna Lani South Course with a birdie. He birdied the next two holes, but couldn't muster any skins as Watson matched his strokes.
"I wasn't exactly having a hard time," Player said. "I never missed a fairway one time. I was down the middle all day, but they were just getting eagles and birdies. I ended up with four birdies in a row, however."
The fourth one, at the par 3, 199-yard 15th, was the biggest.
The comeback was the biggest since 1991 when Nicklaus holed out on the third extra hole to go from $25,000 to $310,000 and wrest the championship trophy from Lee Trevino.
The title was Player's first since he won the inaugural Skins Game in 1983, and the skin on the first extra hole was his first since the 12th hole in the 1989 tournament.
It was a tough loss for Watson.
"From tee to green, I played well and made a couple of long putts," he said. "I knocked it stiff a couple of times and I birdied the last three holes. But it wasn't quite good enough, especially against the quality of players I was playing against."
"I felt bad for Gary for awhile, but not now," Nicklaus joked. "That last shot I hit on the last hole stopped dead on the front edge. I hit some good shots, but the Skins Game comes down to the last putt and Gary made it."
This year's purse totaled $600,000. The first six holes were worth $20,000 each, the next six $30,000, the next five $40,000 and the the 18th $100,000.
The four Senior Skins players have won a combined 225 tournaments, including 45 majors, and $28.3 million on the PGA and Senior PGA tours.
All 18 holes were played on Saturday, but, for television purposes, the first 12 holes were shown on Saturday with the final six holes televised on Sunday as a prelude to the Super Bowl.
