Ireland's Mark McNulty shrugged off a double-bogey on the final hole to win his first major title by five shots at senior Champions Tour tournament The Tradition in Bend, Oregon, on Sunday.
The 53-year-old had effectively sealed victory with four birdies in the first seven holes before signing off with a four-under-par 68 at Crosswater Golf Club.
Zimbabwe-born McNulty secured his sixth win on the senior Champions Tour with a 16-under total of 272, finishing comfortably ahead of American David Edwards (73). DA Weibring carded a 72 to lie a further stroke back in third at 10 under, two ahead of fellow Americans Loren Roberts (70) and Tom Kite (73).
McNulty, a 16-times winner on the European Tour, was delighted to produce his first top-10 finish in a season where he has struggled with a lower back injury.
"I haven't had a very good year," he told reporters after triumphing in the fourth of five majors on the Champions Tour. "I've had a lot of ailments and my game is just starting to turn the corner.
"You've just got to keep plugging away and get the confidence up. You right the ship and that's great, but then you have to get the confidence levels up. That's really what it's all about.
"This was my tournament to lose today, but I still had to earn it."
McNulty became the second Zimbabwe-born major winner on the 2007 Champions Tour, following Denis Watson who clinched the Senior PGA Championship in May.
The season's other major winners were Brad Bryant, at last month's US Senior Open, and fellow American Tom Watson, at the British Open three weeks later.
McNulty took out Irish citizenship in November 2003, thanks to a maternal grandmother from Ballymena. In a resounding rout, the six-time Champions Tour winner started scoring birdies right out of the gate on Sunday, making four birdies to take a three-stroke lead over David Edwards at the turn.
He didn't let up until the final hole, making two birdies on the back nine before a double bogey on the 72nd hole gave him a five-shot win instead of an expected seven.
McNulty needed a top-30 finish on the 2007 Champions Tour Money List to be fully exempt for 2008.
Upon first joining the Tour, he earned three wins and Rookie of the Year honours in 2004 before following that up with two wins in 2005, but a lack of wins since put him in a precarious position on the exemption list.
LEADING FINAL SCORES (US unless stated, par 72): 272 - Mark McNulty (Irl) 66 68 70 68; 277 - D Edwards 67 65 72 73; 278 - D A Weibring 72 66 68 72; 280 - T Kite 70 69 68 73, L Roberts 72 69 69 70; 281 - T Watson 68 72 67 74, K Fergus 70 66 72 73, B Gilder 72 71 72 66; 282 - D Watson (Zim) 72 70 72 68, R W Eaks 70 71 67 74; 283 - F Funk 73 69 69 72 284 - S Simpson 69 68 74 73, L Nielsen 69 70 73 72; 285 - M O'Meara 69 76 70 70, M Hatalsky 70 69 71 75, J Haas 70 70 73 72, E Romero (Arg) 74 68 73 70. Other score: 304 - D Smyth (Irl) 80 75 75 74
