NAPA, Calif. - Cameron Champ broke down in tears when it was over.
Competing while his grandfather fights cancer in nearby Sacramento, the 24-year-old Californian won the Safeway Open on Sunday for his second PGA Tour title. He made a three-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole for a one-stroke victory over Canada's Adam Hadwin at Silverado Resort.
Champ raised both arms, then shared a long embrace with his caddie before breaking into tears as he hugged his father, Jeff, on the green. Champ's grandfather, Mack, is battling stomach cancer and is in hospice.
Mack introduced Champ to golf at a young age.
"For me to do something like this, for me to win and for him to be able to witness and watch on TV, I know he was probably amped up," Champ said. "For him to be able to see me make that putt on 18 on the 72nd hole, that will go down as the greatest moment ever in my career.
"It was just kind of meant to be. Everything fell into place."
Associated Press photo by Eric Risberg / Cameron Champ waves after making a birdie putt on the sixth hole Sunday during the final round of the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.Champ's second victory in 33 events didn't come without its challenges, especially down the stretch.
Three strokes ahead entering the round, Champ had five birdies and overcame a bogey on No. 17 - "Adrenaline," Champ said - to hold off Hadwin. Champ closed with a 3-under-par 69 to finish at 17-under 271.
Afterward, he was handed a cellphone by his father. On the other end was Mack.
"With everything going on with my family, with my grandpa, I wasn't sure if I was even going to play," Champ said. "I showed up Thursday and teed it up with no practice round, nothing. The whole week there was nothing else on my mind. It just kind of blurred everything else."
Hadwin birdied the final three holes for a 67 to tie Champ at 16 under, then watched from nearby as Champ nearly chipped in for eagle on 18 before making the short birdie putt.
"At least I made him think about it a little bit," Hadwin said. "I knew I had to do something special. Put a little pressure on him and made him make birdie for it."
Champ missed every fairway on the front nine but made several big second shots to stay in front. None was more impressive than after he drove into the far left rough on the par-5 fifth, pitched up and over a tall tree and onto the green 17 feet away, then two-putted for birdie.
Champ's first victory came last October at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He hadn't finished higher than sixth since, missing the cut 12 times.
Australia's Marc Leishman (65) was third at 14 under, and Zac Blair (68), Charles Howell III (68) and Justin Thomas (69) tied for fourth at 13 under.
Baylor School graduate Harris English (71) shared 33rd at 7 under.
Triplett via playoff
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Kirk Triplett won the Pure Insurance Championship for the third time, beating Billy Andrade with an eight-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The 57-year-old Triplett, who also won the PGA Tour Champions event in 2012 and 2013, has eight victories on the 50-and-older tour, also winning a playoff in March at the Hoag Classic down the coast in Newport Beach. A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, he jumped from ninth to fourth in the senior circuit's Charles Schwab Cup season earnings standings.
Playing four groups ahead of Andrade, Triplett birdied the 18th in regulation for a 5-under 67 to post a 54-hole score of 9-under 206. Andrade, playing in the final group, also closed with a birdie, holing a seven-footer for a 69 after hitting his second shot through the green.
The 55-year-old Andrade missed a birdie try before Triplett holed the winning putt in the event that pairs tour players with juniors from The First Tee programs around the country. Triplett helped Sam Sommerhauser of the First Tee of Greater Sacramento win the junior boys' title, and Ashley Menne of the First Tee of Phoenix won the girls' title.
England's Paul Broadhurst (68) finished a stroke out the playoff, with Tom Gillis (69) fourth and Tom Byrum (69), Marco Dawson (71), Tom Lehman (69) and Billy Mayfair (69) sharing fifth at 6 under.
Ooltewah's Gibby Gilbert III (75) tied for 45th at 2 over.
Rookie celebrates
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - European Tour rookie Victor Perez secured his first title in his 29th appearance on the circuit, closing with a 2-under 70 to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by one shot.
The 27-year-old Perez narrowly missed his 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the Old Course, but a close-range par was good enough for him become the first French winner of this tournament. He finished at 22-under 266 overall.
Perez, who is based in Scotland and just No. 184 in the World Golf Ranking, graduated from the Challenge Tour last year.
England's Matthew Southgate (71) was second after a thrilling final-round battle with Perez, who had three birdies and a solitary bogey on the par-3 11th hole. Southgate had two bogeys on the back nine and failed to make the birdie he needed to force a playoff.
Sweden's Joakim Lagergren (69) and England's Paul Waring (70) tied for third at 20 under.
To the finish line
INDIANAPOLIS - Mi Jung Hur wanted to go wire to wire on the LPGA Tour for the first time, and she had the perfect formula in the final round at the Indy Women in Tech Championship.
She didn't make any mistakes at Brickyard Crossing, and no one came close to knocking her from the top of the leaderboard. Hur closed with a 4-under 68 for a four-shot victory, the 29-year-old South Korean's second LPGA Tour title this year and the fourth of her career.
Denmark's Nanna Koerstz Madsen birdied her last two holes for a 67 to finish alone in second, the only drama in the final round. It was a big deal to Koerstz Madsen, who moved from No. 70 to No. 44 in the Race to the CME Globe standings. The LPGA Tour has four events remaining - all of them in Asia - before the top 60 golfers qualify for the season-ending CME Globe Tour Championship in Florida.
The United States' Marina Alex began the final round two shots behind but did not make a birdie until the 16th hole, closed with another birdie for a 72 and finished alone in third at 15 under. Megan Khang (68), Bronte Law (70), Maria Torres (72) and Sakura Yokomine (68) shared fourth.