Pavin’s Chip-In Sinks O’Meara : Golf: Both break Bob Hope Classic record by shooting 29 under par, but Pavin wins it by holing out from rough in playoff.

Corey Pavin said he was in shock for two seconds, but it wasn’t anything compared to the shock he gave Mark O’Meara.

O’Meara was seemingly in excellent position to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Sunday at Indian Wells.

He was on the 17th green for the first playoff hole, about 15 feet away, waiting to try a birdie putt. Pavin was 40 to 45 feet off the green and in the rough.

Pavin then hit a wedge shot that took a couple of bounces on the green and went into the hole for a birdie.

The victory was assured for Pavin, the former UCLA star, a few minutes later when O’Meara missed his putt.

It was a dramatic ending to a record-breaking tournament. Pavin and O’Meara finished at 29-under-par 331 for the 90-hole tournament, breaking the tour record of 27 under held by five players.

Tim Simpson also broke the record at 28 under and he finished in third place.

“My lie was average,” said Pavin of his winning chip shot. “I had been chipping well all week with my 60-degree wedge. I didn’t think it was going it, but I thought it might be close. It took the right bounce and rolled into the hole.

“I think I stood there for what seemed like an eternity. It didn’t sink in that I had made it.”

Pavin said he was in shock for two seconds and then raised his arms. He didn’t want to become too elated too soon because O’Meara still had an opportunity to send the playoff into another extra hole.

“I don’t know what to say,” O’Meara said. “I played what I thought was a solid round. I played 90 holes (actually 91), made three bogeys and 32 birdies, set a tournament record--and I lose.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m not hanging my head.”

As for his 15-foot putt on the playoff hole, O’Meara said he didn’t feel that he hit that bad of a putt, but “it broke a bunch to the right.”

Of Pavin’s winning chip shot, O’Meara said: “I was not counting out the fact that he could chip it in, but when you’re in my position, you’re in the driver’s seat.

“And when it went in, it didn’t surprise me because he’s done some of that to me before in college.”

O’Meara was referring to their rivalry when he was at Cal State Long Beach and Pavin was playing for UCLA.

“I won six times and it seemed that Mark was second four times,” Pavin said. “But he paid me back at Kapalua in 1985 (on Maui) when he beat me in a playoff (in an unofficial event). So we’re even.”

It was the eighth tour victory for the 5-foot-9, 140-pound Pavin, but his first since 1988. He earned $198,000, with O’Meara getting $118,000.

“I was playing for the victory,” O’Meara said. “I don’t know how much money I made and I don’t care.”

It was Pavin’s third playoff victory without a loss in a pro career that began in 1984. O’Meara is 0-3 in playoffs.

On another flawless day in the desert, Pavin started the round two shots behind O’Meara and one behind Simpson. He shot a seven-under-par 65 for the regulation 18 holes, O’Meara and Simpson each shooting 67s.

O’Meara had a one-stroke lead over Simpson and Pavin going to the 15th hole, a 170-yard par-three.

Pavin then hit what he called his best shot in a long time. It was a seven-iron, the ball stopping 10 inches from the cup. Pavin easily got his birdie, while O’Meara and Simpson made par.

O’Meara and Pavin were still tied as they went to the 18th hole, a 501-yard par-five. The three players birdied the hole, setting up the playoff with Simpson dropping out.

Going back to the 17th, a 398-yard par-four, for the first playoff hole, Pavin pushed his tee shot into the right rough. O’Meara’s tee shot found the fairway.

Pavin’s second shot was also in the rough near the green. O’Meara was on the green, waiting for Pavin to chip. You know the rest.

Pavin, 31, said that he had some rough years in 1988 and 1989, but his wife, Shannon, stood beside him.

“Without her, I would be lost,” he said.

Pavin won the 1987 Hope tournament when he made a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to edge Bernhard Langer.

“This was more unexpected,” Pavin said.

Simply ask Mark O’Meara.