Mattiace captures first tour victory

LOS ANGELES -- After 220 tries, Len Mattiace finally can call himself a winner on the PGA Tour.

Handling the back-nine pressure with steady play, Mattiace closed with a 3-under 68 and took advantage of a late collapse by crowd favorite Scott McCarron to win the Nissan Open, becoming the third first-time winner on tour this year.

"It's a great feeling," said Mattiace, who won $666,00. "I hung in there and at least had a chance."

Mattiace has never finished higher than 61st on the money list in seven years and came to Riviera Country Club as the 157th player in the world ranking.

It sure didn't look that way, not after he holed an improbable bunker shot at No. 12 and kept the pressure on McCarron over the five holes.

McCarron, who led by three shots with seven holes to play, finally caved in.

He missed a 6-footer for par on No. 16 after hitting into the bunker, and missed another 6-foot putt for birdie on the par-5 17th.

The 18th hole might haunt him for a while. His approach sailed just over the green into the shaggy first cut of rough, and McCarron elected to use his broom putter instead of chipping. The ball hopped high upon contact, veered left and came up 6 feet short.

The putt to force a playoff never had a chance.

"I wouldn't wish that on anyone," Mattiace said.

The 34-year-old from Jacksonville, Fla., had been there himself. The best chance Mattiace has had at victory in his seven years on tour came in his hometown four years ago. Trailing by one stroke on the island-green 17th at The Players Championship, he hit two balls into the water and took an 8.

That's now a forgotten memory. Mattiace is a PGA Tour winner, coming at a course which looks favorable upon first-timers. Two years ago, Kirk Triplett won the Nissan Open for his first career victory in 266 starts.

There was no repeat of last year's six-man playoff, but it was close.

Rory Sabbatini failed to get up-and-down for birdie from left of the 17th and finished one stroke back after a 68.

The real hard-luck case was Brad Faxon. One of the best putters in golf, he missed birdie putts of 8 and 12 feet down the stretch, then bent over and tugged at his hair as his 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th stopped a half-inch from falling.

He also had a 68 to finish one stroke behind.

Japan's Toru Taniguchi had gone 32 holes without a bogey until they started coming in droves -- three out of four holes that left him as many as four strokes behind. He made only one birdie over the final eight holes and had a 72 to finish two back.

Mattiace became the sixth player in seven tournaments this week to come from behind on the final day to win. The surprise was that McCarron was a victim. In three previous times he had the 54-hole lead, he went on to win.

Verizon Classic

LUTZ, Fla. -- Doug Tewell saved par with an 18-foot putt from the fringe after hitting into the water on the par-5 12th and then held off Hale Irwin and Bruce Fleisher to win the Senior PGA Tour Verizon Classic by one shot.

Irwin had four birdies on Nos. 10-14, but closed with four consecutive pars to finish at 9-under 204, one shot behind Tewell.

Fleisher, trailing by one shot after Tewell bogeyed the par-4 No. 18, hit his second shot into the water on 18 and made double-bogey 6. His 4-over 75 tied Dave Stockton at 206.

Tewell, who shot 2-under 69, won $225,000 for his fifth victory on the senior tour, one more than he had in nearly 25 years on the PGA Tour. He was the only player in the field to shoot three rounds in the 60s on the 6,783-yard course at the Tournament Players Club of Tampa Bay.

-- From wire reports