Padraig Harrington sank a tournament winning putt on the 18th hole as he claimed the Hoag Classic title in Newport Beach, California on Sunday.
The Dubliner took a one-shot lead into his final round of the PGA Tour Champions event.
Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee kept Harrington honest, breathing down his neck right to the wire.
"Yeah, I never make it easy, don't do it simple," Harrington said. "I think one of my best traits in golf is when my back's to the wall, I'm pretty good at taking things on."
After a birdie at the third hole, Harrington suffered a double bogey at the par-3 fourth hole. Birdies fell at the seventh, 12th and 15th to help him claw back, but he suffered an enormous setback at the difficult par-4 16th.
Harrington's drive went far left into a native area, leaving him to punch out to the fairway. He compounded the mistake when his third shot missed the green and settled in a bunker, leading to his second double bogey.
But Harrington responded with birdies at the 17th and 18th to overtake Jaidee, who could only par the two holes. Harrington made a slippery downhill15-footer at the par-3 17th before his birdie for the win at the par-5 18th rolled around the cup and in.
"Look, I knew I could finish birdie-eagle if I had to," Harrington said. "I was very focused, just take it on. I was a little unlucky. I hit a nice tee shot on 17 and where I finished up, we thought it was a fraction to the right.
"And then obviously I hit a bad tee shot on 18, but the second shot worked out really well where it was. I was never not getting up and down from there. When you're presented with an opportunity, you've got to take it."
Jaidee had his second straight round of 69 by pairing four birdies with two bogeys.
Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain shot a 68 and placed third at 12 under. Canadian Stephen Ames (67) was fourth at 11 under, and Jerry Kelly (67) and South Korea's KJ Choi (68) tied for fifth at 10 under.
