Sindelar wins Wachovia on extra hole

RON GREEN JR., Staff Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 09, 2004 (Knight Ridder Newspapers - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- After 21 solid but not spectacular years on the PGA Tour, Joey Sindelar knew enough not to get caught staring at leader boards and imagining the possibilities as the Wachovia Championship began defining and discarding its possible champions late Sunday afternoon.

When you haven't won since Tiger Woods was a 14-year old and you spend most weeks playing to get to the weekend and another paycheck, reality has a way to sticking in your mind the way Sindelar's sweat-soaked shirt was clinging to his stomach.

Plus, Tiger Woods was on the prowl, Vijay Singh was closing like a thunderstorm, Phil Mickelson was close and third-round leader Arron Oberholser wouldn't go away.

Still, temptation got the best of Sindelar and, walking to the 16th tee, he asked his caddie of all 21 seasons John Buchna, "Do we have a chance to win?"

"We need at least a couple of birdies and a possible accident to win," Buchna said.

One hour later, Sindelar and Buchna were on the 16th green, balancing the disbelief with the thrill of having won the Wachovia Championship with a par on the second sudden-death hole against Oberholser.

Oberholser and Sindelar finished tied at 11-under par 277 at the end of regulation, one stroke better than Woods (who closed with a 68) and Carlos Franco, two better than Mickelson, Steve Flesch, Notah Begay III and Jeff Maggert.

Sindelar would joke later that his children thought the six trophies from his previous tour victories - the last of which he won in 1990 - were replicas used for decoration. He was the 222nd ranked player in the world when the week began and, in his private moments, he would admit to wanting to hang on the big tour long enough to be competitive when he turned 50 and slipped over to the Champions Tour.

But like Jay Haas, Peter Jacobsen and others who have proven there's life in the shadow of 50, Sindelar birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th holes - something no other player did over the weekend - to give himself a chance when Oberholser couldn't finish off his first career win.

"I'm happy for Joey," said Oberholser, who bogeyed the second playoff hole when he hit his tee shot in the right rough, his second shot into a greenside bunker and missed a long par putt.

"The sky could've fallen and he'd find a positive in it. He's a joy to be around."

Sindelar figured he'd destroyed his chance of winning when he double-bogeyed the par-5 10th hole and vanished from the leader board, which was changing like a beach when the tide rushes in.

"There are a lot better holes to double than 10," said Sindelar, who finished third on the tour money list in 1988 but no better than 61st in the past decade.

It looked as if nothing else would matter when Oberholser ripped a 5-wood second shot within eight feet of the hole at No. 15 to set up an eagle that gave him a two-stroke lead with three treacherous holes remaining.

But Oberholser's bogey at 16 cracked the door open and his lucky-to-be-dry 3-iron at the watery 17th set up a bogey that gave Sindelar his opportunity.

Sindelar's decisive swing had come moments earlier at the 17th, where the hole was cut close enough to the water to scare Stephen King.

He wasn't trying to be a hero, opting for a more conservative play, but his 4-iron tee shot caught the slope in the green and cozied up within three feet of the hole for his third straight birdie.

As he stood on the tee, Sindelar didn't think of winning the tournament.

"I was thinking, 'Same ball,'" he said, meaning he wanted to keep his out of the lake.

"Even if I needed to birdie 17, I'm not in Tiger's world or Vijay's world or Phil's world. I didn't want to go fishing for $150,000."

Once Sindelar finished regulation and waited for Oberholser to make a strong save from tree trouble at 18 to force the playoff, an uncommon calm came over the winner. Having spent so many years grinding to make cuts and wondering at night if he had enough money to keep his playing privileges, Sindelar was at ease.

He played the two extra holes just like they're diagrammed and wound up winning more in one warm, muggy afternoon than he'd won in any previous season in his career. A consistently good ball-striker through the years, Sindelar has spent the past two years re-learning the art of chipping and putting, trying to extend a career against players half his age.

"I still do not believe it happened," said Sindelar, who had rounds of 69-69-70-69. "But I never thought it couldn't."