ENDICOTT, N.Y. - Willie Wood finally worked his way back to the top.
The Sabino High School grad won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open on Sunday for his first Champions Tour title, beating Michael Allen with a par on the first hole of a playoff.
"It was quite exciting," Wood said. "I hung in there, hung in there, and things turned out great."
Wood made a 35-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation to match Allen, a two-time winner this year, at 13-under 203 on the En-Joie Golf Course. Wood closed with a 66, and Allen shot 66.
In the playoff on the par-4 18th hole, Allen's drive went way left into the water, essentially giving the win to Wood, whose drive was straight and on the mark.
Wood, 51, earned $270,000 for his first title since he won the 1996 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic for his lone PGA Tour title. Joey Sindelar, Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman and Brad Faxon tied for third.
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Throughout the last 16 years, Wood toiled on the Web.com Tour against players half his age.
But he always wanted more.
"I knew that when I turned 50, I would have a new challenge ahead of me," said Wood, who after his Sabino years starred at Oklahoma State in the early 1980s and now lives in Edmond, Okla.
Wood's biggest stroke Sunday came on the final hole of regulation when he holed the 35-footer to force the playoff. The ball slowly approached the hole and broke right at the last second to fall into the cup, eliciting an emphatic fist pump from Wood and huge cheers.
