Double bogey on 18 good enough to win

Bobby Wadkins rallied from a four-stroke deficit.
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- It was the best double bogey Bobby Wadkins ever made.
The 12-foot putt on the 72nd hole of the Senior Players Championship gave Wadkins his first major title and a huge sense of relief.
After all, it was just a month ago that Phil Mickelson's double bogey on No. 18 cost him a chance to win the U.S. Open. But Jim Thorpe's three-putt bogey on the final hole at the TPC of Michigan on Sunday allowed Wadkins to escape a fate similar.
"Anyone who says they aren't feeling nerves at that state of the game is telling a lie," said Wadkins, who shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday and was 14 under for the tournament. "The tournament should have been over, and I almost gave it away."
Wadkins was one stroke better than Thorpe, who shot a 69 on Sunday and was the runner-up for a third time at the Senior Players.
Wadkins overcame not only a wild finish on the 18th hole, but also a four-stroke deficit and 95-degree heat to claim only his third Champions Tour win.
Nice run
The 54-year-old Wadkins made five straight birdies on the back nine to charge past Thorpe and third-round leader Loren Roberts, whose double bogeys on Nos. 11 and 14 dropped him down the leaderboard.
Wadkins' previous Champions Tour wins included the 2001 Long Island Classic and this year's Boeing Championship. He never has won on the PGA Tour. His previous best finish at a Champions Tour major was second in the Senior PGA in both 2002 and 2003.
Wadkins' older brother Lanny broadcast the final round on CBS and said he felt a great deal of pride in his sibling's accomplishment.
"This is really cool for me," Lanny Wadkins said.
On the par-4 18th, Wadkins drove it left into a marsh and had to take a drop. His third shot fell into a greenside bunker. His shot from the bunker flew over the green and hit a spectator on the hill.
"I haven't hit a bunker shot like that since I was 15," he said. "Hopefully, I won't hit another one for another 40 years."
His fifth shot from the rough -- which he said was his toughest of the weekend -- nearly went in the hole, but had too much pace. Wadkins then holed a 12-footer for double bogey to seal the win.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.