Sean O'Hair felt as if he were doing everything required of a winner except winning.
A weekend off last week gave him ample time to visit with his father-in-law, and the message finally got through.
"He told me how he believed in me, how he felt I was on the right track, and if I started believing in myself, everything would happen," O'Hair said yesterday after winning the PODS Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla.
"I didn't believe him. But I guess he was right."
It required solid play, two good pars, and a birdie putt that O'Hair described as the best of his career.
But he also needed a meltdown by Stewart Cink, who lost four shots in four holes and couldn't figure out what he did wrong.
O'Hair took advantage of the collapse by Cink to take his second PGA Tour victory, closing with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory.
O'Hair got into the mix with a birdie on the opening hole. His chip from behind the 11th green to tap-in range for birdie pulled him within one shot. Then came a couple of par putts, including one on No. 15 after he hit a 7-iron to 30 feet below the cup.
"One of the best putts I've ever hit in my life," he said. "With 10 feet to go, I knew it was in the hole. From there, I was just trying not to throw up on myself."
Cink had a tee shot stop next to a tree that led to bogey on a par 5, missed a 4-foot birdie on the next hole, then followed that with a tee shot into the water at No. 16. He shot 74 to finish in a six-way tie for second at 2-under 282.
"I'm a little shell-shocked and a little bit angry," Cink said. "What happened to me - what I allowed to happen to me - is going to make me a better player in the future. But I've got some soul-searching to do."
Cink fell to 1-8 in events at which he had at least a share of the 54-hole lead. "That's not a coincidence," he said.
Champions - Bernhard Langer outlasted Jay Haas in the
After bogeying the par-3 17th to drop a stroke behind, Langer birdied the par-5 18th to force the playoff at 14-under 199. Haas closed with a 6-under 65, while Langer had a 69.
Asian - Arjun Atwal won the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, beating Peter Hedblom on the second playoff hole.
