Pampling gets first PGA win in 10 years by capturing Shriners Open

If anyone thought Rod Pampling had forgotten how to win on the PGA Tour, they need only have witnessed his tenacity down the stretch of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Sunday.

He was battling himself, the course and the other players in his group. But the 47-year-old Australian found a way to minimize any self-inflicting wounds while coming up with enough clutch shots at TPC Summerlin to post a final-round 6-under-par 65 to win by two strokes over Brooks Koepka and three over Lucas Glover. It was his first Tour victory since 2006 when he won the Bay Hill Invitational.

“It’s awesome,” said Pampling, whose four-day total of 20-under 264 earned him $1,288,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points. “You know, you dream of it. It happened a couple of times, obviously a long time ago. But thankfully I can still remember those, and it’s exactly the same.

“It’s just an amazing feeling and it’s just what we work so hard for, and it was just nice to finish off with a bomb like that. It makes it even more special.”

Pampling was referring to the 32-foot birdie putt he made at the par-4 18th to seal the deal. He was nursing a one-shot lead after parring the par-3 17th and having Glover bogey the hole. Glover had already failed to make up the stroke and Koepka, who was also within a shot of forcing a playoff, was waiting for his try.

But the ball snaked down the green and right into the hole for the win as Pampling raised his putter in celebration while pumping his left fist in triumph.

“As a kid, you dream of making a long putt to win a tournament,” Pampling said. “I didn’t want to give Brooks a chance.”

Pampling, who began the week in blazing fashion with an 11-under 60 in Thursday’s opening round, had managed to stay near the top of the leaderboard despite an even-par 71 Saturday. When he came to the course Sunday, one shot out of the lead, he had a case of amnesia. He had forgotten about the 71 and his focus was on getting back to making birdies.

“I knew I would have to go low to win,” he said. “Sometimes you can amaze yourself at what you can do when you’re under the gun.”

That was the case as he and Glover were battling neck-and-neck on the back nine. At the par-4 No. 15, Pampling managed to salvage birdie after his second shot abutted the spectator area behind the green. At the par-5 16th, he hit a lousy tee shot, a poor second shot and still managed to come away with par.

He finally gained some separation at the par-3 17th, accepting par for the hole while Glover wound up with bogey after hitting his tee shot into a greenside bunker and couldn’t get up and down.

When asked about his tenacity in grinding it out, Pampling said: “It’s always there. It’s about having the opportunity to bring it out.

“I think the difference was down the stretch I got the ball to the hole with the putts which I hadn’t done the last two days. So thankfully I learned my lesson. You still learn sometimes out here.”

For Koepka, he just didn’t have as much tenacity as Pampling.

“I didn’t putt very well on the weekend,” he said. “My ball striking (Saturday) was poor and that kinda cost me.”

Glover would’ve liked some of those shots back late in his round but he took the defeat in stride.

“I haven’t put four rounds together, much less two weeks together in about five years,” he said. “I would have loved to have won but perspective is a wonderful thing. I didn’t hit the shots down the stretch and Rod did and Brooks did.”

He may not have the length or the strength of some of his younger foes, but Pampling had enough game this week to get the job done on the PGA Tour.

“It’s nice that at 47 you still can win out here,” said Pampling, the oldest player to win this event (Wes Short Jr. was 41 when he won in 2005). “The young guys win enough. I’m glad I could put my hand up.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.