Maggert Takes Home $1 Million
Jeff Maggert will no longer be remembered as the player who could never close the deal. Call him the comeback kid of the Match Play Championship.
A hard-luck runner-up 13 times since 1993, Maggert showed the grit of a champion under the intense pressure of match play on Sunday, chipping in for birdie on the 38th hole to beat Andrew Magee and win the $1 million first prize, the richest in tour history.
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With such a dramatic finish, the absence of Tiger Woods, David Duval or any other of the big names in golf were soon forgotten.
From the first cut of rough behind the par-3 11th, Maggert left the pin out and sent the ball on its way. It swirled against the back of the cup and disappeared, and Maggert showed more emotion than he has all week, hopping into the air and pumping his fist twice.
"I've been around this game a long time, and I've seen a lot of things good and bad happen," Maggert said. "I knew if I could hang in there long enough, something good could happen. And something did."
It was the first time Maggert had the lead all day, a fitting tribute to a player who had to come from behind in five of his six matches this week at La Costa Resort.
Maggert is now 7-1 in match play as a professional, and the $1 million is more than he has ever earned in any of his eight previous seasons on the PGA Tour.
Magee, a four-time winner but not since 1994, earned $500,000 for the biggest check in his career. Still, it was a bitter ending for the 36-year-old full of quips. He took the lead on the fifth hole in the morning round of 18 and had three birdie chances to keep the match from going extra holes.
This meant more than money to Maggert. His lost opportunities have come in just about every kind of tournament, from the Houston Open lst year to the U.S. Open at Congressional in 1997, but he always struggled to keep a lead.
He has either had the lead or been within five strokes of it 37 times in his career, but managed to squeeze out only one victory. And even that one -- the Disney Classic in 1993 -- carries a peculiar note. They had to set up floodlights to beat the darkness, making Maggert the only player to win a tournament at night.
This match looked like it might go on forever until Maggert's deft touch on the 20-foot chip.
"It's been a long time since I've been in the winner's circle," he said. "What a time to get back in."
The victory moves Maggert past Duval atop the money list, earned him his first trip to the winners-only Mercedes Championship since 1994 and gives him a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
In the consolation match, John Huston was 6-under through 14 holes for a 5 and 4 victory over Steve Pate.
The $400,000 for Huston is the largest paycheck in his career, surpassing the $360,000 he earn from winning the Disney Classic in October. Ditto for Pate -- he got $300,000 topping the $270,000 he got for winning the CVS Charity Classic last year.