Tom Pernice Jr. holed a six-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Jay Haas and win the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship on the Cochise Course at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The 55-year-old Pernice, who played at UCLA, got up-and-down from a greenside bunker to claim his fourth career victory on the Champions Tour and second this season, sinking his winning putt after Haas made an 11-footer for par.
“I’m overwhelmed, really, to be out here on this tour with players like Bernhard Langer, Kenny Perry and Jay Haas,” said Pernice, who won twice in his career on the PGA Tour. “To be able to hold this trophy is special, with what Charles Schwab means to this tour.
“Yesterday I was up-and-down, and today I just kind of hung in there, so I’m thrilled to death.”
Pernice closed with a 3-under 67, making a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole, while Haas, 60, closed with a 66 that included a 35-foot birdie putt on the finishing hole.
Kenny Perry eagled the final hole to shoot 68 and finish one-stroke back in solo third, while Bernhard Langer closed with a 65 to tie for fourth with Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, who shot 67. Olin Browne of Occidental College in Los Angeles finished solo sixth after a 67.
Langer wrapped up the season-long Charles Schwab Cup chase, which Perry claimed last season, a week earlier in a season that included five victories.
