Sindelar Wins Wachovia, Ends 14-Year Victory Drought

Joey Sindelar had a hunch someone would come out of the pack to win the Wachovia Championship on Sunday at Charlotte, N.C. He just didn’t think it would be him.

Sindelar was 14 years and 370 tournaments removed from his last PGA Tour victory. He had spent the last five years struggling to keep his card. Worse yet, he was three shots behind with three holes to play at Quail Hollow, perhaps the most demanding finish on tour.

“My caddie, John [Buchna], told me I would need a couple of birdies and a possible accident to win,” Sindelar said.

He got his two birdies, including one at No. 17, the toughest hole on the course.

Arron Oberholser delivered the wreck.

And after two playoff holes, the 46-year-old Sindelar was posing with the trophy and pinching himself.

Sindelar birdied three of his last four holes, waited for Oberholser to wilt, then polished him off with a par in the playoff for the seventh victory of his career and his first since the 1990 Hardee’s Classic.

Sindelar earned $1.08 million, more than he made in any of his previous 20 years on the tour.

Oberholser tried to put a positive spin on a shocking collapse.

“I’m not going to beat myself up over this,” Oberholser said.

An eagle on the par-five 15th put him two shots ahead with three holes to play. But the pressure proved too much as Oberholser bogeyed the next two holes and needed a spectacular shot out of the trees on the 18th hole to make par and give himself a chance in the playoff.

The playoff ended on the 16th hole. Sindelar hit his approach to 30 feet, and Oberholser’s six-iron from the rough came out heavy and into a bunker. He blasted out to 10 feet, but missed the putt.

Sindelar closed with a 69 and Oberholser had a 72. They finished at 11-under 277.

Tiger Woods closed with a 68 and joined Carlos Franco (70) one shot behind.

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Se Ri Pak, mostly off the radar for three rounds, shot a six-under 65 to win the Michelob Ultra Open at Williamsburg, Va., and earn a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Pak, 26, moved into contention early and finished with a nine-under 275, passing five players en route to the 22nd victory of her career and the final point she needed to qualify for the hall.

Pak needs to play three more years on the tour to qualify for the Hall of Fame, which requires inductees to play at least 10 years.

Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, who shot 67, and third-round co-leader Lorena Ochoa (71) finished tied for second at seven under.

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Larry Nelson rallied from three strokes off the lead, shooting a five-under 67 for a one-stroke victory in the FedEx Kinko’s Classic at Austin, Texas.

Nelson, a two-time runner-up this season, rallied with three birdies on the back nine and finished at seven-under 209 at The Hills Country Club, one stroke ahead of Bruce Lietzke (69).

A two-time runner-up this season, Nelson won his 18th Champions Tour title.

Morris Hatalsky shot a 71 and finished at five under, tied with Bob Gilder (65) and Wayne Levi (72). Second-round co-leader Bob Charles, who at 68 was trying to become the tour’s oldest winner, closed with a four-over 76 and finished at one-under 215.