This time, O’Hair is able to finish job

CHARLOTTE, N.C. â€”  Standing at the 18th tee, Sean O’Hair asked his caddie where he stood in the Quail Hollow Championship and got word that he had a one-shot lead.

“Over who?� O’Hair replied.

It wasn’t Tiger Woods. It might not have mattered.

Five weeks after blowing a five-shot lead at Bay Hill against the world’s No. 1 player, O’Hair was determined to keep putting himself in contention until he figured out how to win down the stretch.

That time came Sunday against one of the strongest fields of the year, with Woods in his rearview mirror.

O’Hair, 26, closed with a three-under-par 69 -- the only player from the last nine groups to break 70 -- and made enough key birdies that finishing with consecutive bogeys on the two toughest holes at Quail Hollow didn’t cost him.

He wound up with a one-shot victory over Lucas Glover and Bubba Watson to become only the third player in his 20s with at least three PGA Tour victories. The others are Sergio Garcia and Adam Scott.

“Even though it’s tough to lose like that, to lose a five-shot lead against Tiger, you still learn from it,� O’Hair said of Bay Hill. “I talked to my coach. I talked to my caddie, Paul [Tesori]. And we just all said all I have to do is keep putting myself in those situations, and at some point I’m going to learn how to win. It’s just nice to win as quickly as I did after Bay Hill.�

O’Hair took the outright lead with a two-putt birdie from 70 feet on the 15th, then seized control with an eight-iron to eight feet for birdie on the 16th hole, allowing him some room for error on the difficult finishing holes.

“I just hit it as hard as I could and tried to flight it,� O’Hair said, “and hit really a perfect golf shot.�

Glover, who bogeyed the par-three 17th, had a chance to force a playoff until his approach bounded over the firm green and his birdie chip turned away to the left. He closed with a 71 to join Watson (70) in a tie for second.

Woods struggled with his game throughout the final round, but he still had a chance to tie for the lead when he drove the par-four 14th green and had an eagle putt from just inside 25 feet. He three-putted for par, then failed to birdie the par-five 15th. Woods finished with 10 straight pars for a 72 to finish alone in fourth, two shots behind.

“I had my opportunity there at 14. I made a mistake there,� Woods said. “I knew the green was baked out. It was downwind, and I didn’t heed my own warning, and ended up putting too hard.�

O’Hair, who finished at 11-under 277, will move up to No. 12 in the world rankings, his highest position ever. He also earned $1.17 million, giving him just short of $3 million for the year, more than he has ever made in any season.