Purdy in Pink at the Byron Nelson Championship

Sean O’Hair may have climbed another rung in the ladder of his post-dictator father days, but he stood silently by as the ultimate honor at a PGA Tour event went today to Ted Purdy, who two times finished second in 2004. Purdy’s closing 5-under 65 netted him a one-stroke victory at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship and his first PGA Tour win.

The tournament began with a bit of hype over the “Big Five” playing together for only the third time this season. After Tiger Woods missed his first cut in 143 tournaments (taking Retief Goosen with him), the attention fell squarely on the shoulders of O’Hair, Purdy, and their cast of merry (and winless) cohorts. Only late Sunday charges by Mickelson (67, T14), Ernie Els (66, T10), and Vijay Singh (65, T3) put them in the top 15. Vijay, who needed to finish third alone or better to regain the top spot in the world, instead tied with three others for third, falling just short. His hole-in-one at the 17th on Sunday certainly helped his cause, however.

Instead, the trophy went to Ted Purdy, who wore more of an orange color than pink on Sunday. Ranked 173rd in the world coming into this week, his victory is sure to bump him up “to at least 170th,” joked Ted after watching O’Hair fail to hole his wedge approach at the last. “I played flawlessly today,” said Purdy. “I won on the PGA. That’s been my dream my whole life. I’ve been all over the world, but this is the pinnacle, especially this tournament.”

After watching O’Hair finish out with a birdie to end up one stroke shy, Purdy sat next to Byron Nelson, the man who won 18 PGA Tour events in one year and 11 in a row. Nelson, now 93, has been a gracious host, and Ted Purdy was quite gracious in accepting the $1.16 million winner’s check.

O’Hair, a re-juvenated former slave, employee, or “laborer” of his demanding father Marc O’Hair (depending on your point of view) started the day with a one-shot lead. He remained within one shot of the lead all day until he hit into a bunker at the 14th and failed to save par. He came home strong, however, birdieing two of the last three holes to finish solo second with a two-under 68 and earns $669,600 – most likely enough to earn him full-time status next year on the PGA Tour.

Said O’Hair after the round, “I’m really proud of myself, and I’m really happy for Ted. I learned a lot as far as what it takes to win. It’s not always about making birdies. Sometimes, it’s about making pars, and I made too many bogeys.” O’Hair, whose father-in-law serves as his caddy, will trudge onward.

By the way, Ted Purdy’s victory makes him a part of a pretty nifty threesome. He’s the third player along with Steve Jones (1997 Bell Canadian Open) and Phil Mickelson (1998 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) to win a PGA Tour event in which Tiger Woods failed to make the cut. Yes, you read that right: three missed cuts.

Pos  Player            Tot    R1    R2    R3    R4    Tot
1    Ted Purdy         -15    65    67    68    65    265
2    Sean O'Hair       -14    66    65    67    68    266
T3   Vijay Singh       -11    68    67    69    65    269
T3   Bob Tway          -11    68    68    66    67    269
T3   Doug Barron       -11    69    66    65    69    269
T6   Omar Uresti       -10    65    70    69    66    270
T6   Nick Price        -10    66    69    68    67    270
T6   Shigeki Maruyama  -10    67    67    68    68    270
T6   Scott Verplank    -10    68    67    65    70    270
T10  Mark Brooks        -9    71    69    65    66    271
T10  Ernie Els          -9    64    72    69    66    271
T10  J.J. Henry         -9    67    69    67    68    271
T10  Jaxon Brigman      -9    72    66    64    69    271

Photo Credit: © AP.