SAN ANTONIO, United States (AFP) - Bart Bryant captured the first PGA Tour title of his career here with his victory in the 3.5 million-dollar Texas Open.
Bryant, who carded a course-record 60 on Saturday, fired a three-under-par 67 on Sunday for a 72-hole total of 19-under 261, three shots better than runner-up Patrick Sheehan (66).
"It hasn't sunk in yet," Bryant said. "I really wasn't letting myself think about what a win would mean. I was really focused on the present, and I don't know if it'll sink in until tonight or tomorrow."
With a dozen of America's best golfers spending the weekend in Michigan, where they were trounced by 12 of Europe's best in the Ryder Cup, Texas proved the perfect spot for a struggling player to pick up a big paycheck, not to mention a two-year exemption to the tour with a win.
Asked who he thought had more fun this weekend, himself or the US Ryder Cup players, Bryant said: "I think I did."
Enter Bryant, a 41-year-old Texas native who now lives in Florida. Bryant has made it through qualifying school a staggering five times.
But his previous best finish was a seventh at the 1991 Honda Classic.
"I've kind of been off and on the tour," Bryant said. "Fortunately, when I had my left elbow surgery and my right elbow surgery, they had a medical exemption for me."
With his major medical exemption to expire at the end of the year and his earnings of less than 261,000 dollars nowhere near the top 125, Bryant needed to make something happen to avoid a return trip to Q-School or the Nationwide development tour.
He did just that, collecting 630,000 dollars along with the exemption.
"(My wife) Cathy, we were riding in the cart on the way over, and she goes, 'Two-year exemption,'" Bryant said. "I know it was on her mind. I'm going to have an offseason this year. I'm not going to tour school. This is unbelievable."
Bryant did not have a bogey over his last 49 holes, a stretch of solid play that gave him the lead on Saturday and allowed him to keep it Sunday.
"I knew today would be a little different, that there was a possibility I was going to miss some putts because I had made so many," Bryant said. "I tried to just shrug it off and not let it get to me and be patient."
Sheehan finished at 264, one shot better than Todd Fischer (67) and Dean Wilson (66).