Comeback Classic

Verplank was can't-miss all the way. An accurate driver and a gifted putter, he was the Man when he added the '86 NCAA tide to his Amateur and Western victories. "Verplank might've been one of the top 10 players in the world his last year of college," Estes says. "He would've done what Tiger has done if he had been able to stay healthy."

Verplank was still on track in '88 when he won the Buick, and continued to put up solid numbers through the 1990 season, although by then he had already spent time on the sidelines because of a diabetic condition that he was forced to treat as seriously as his golf. The crash came in '91, when his degenerative left elbow had to be surgically repaired by Dr. Frank Jobe. The condition cost Verplank three seasons. He returned to the Tour in 1994 and started to play well late in the '95 season, only to discover a few months later that his other elbow needed surgery, a setback that he had difficulty dealing with. "You lose confidence in your body," Verplank says. "I was in a bad mood for eight or 10 months. I didn't want to get a real job. I wanted to keep playing golf. I knew if I could stay healthy, I had a good 10 years to raise my game. When I started a long time ago, I didn't think I was going to dominate like Tiger Woods has a chance to do, but I thought I could win. When you're a kid and you play like I did, you feel bulletproof. You think you're going to knock it dead for 25 years. Well, it turned out that wasn't the case."

Based on Verplank's play last week, we probably haven't seen the last of him. He tied for first in putting and ranked third in driving accuracy. He got into the hunt midway through the third round when he backed a wedge shot into the cup for an eagle at the 9th hole. He gamely hung in there on Sunday even after fluffing a risky flop shot that led to a costly bogey at the par-5 15th. By the time he got to the 18th tee, Verplank was a stroke behind Dodds, who was in at 12 under par after a superlative 69. Verplank left his approach about 35 feet short of the hole, but something about the way he stalked the putt gave you the feeling he expected to make it. "He just rammed it in. It was awesome," said Skip Kendall, who got into the final pairing with Verplank after a third-round 63, then struggled home with a 78 in Sunday's gusty winds.

The tournament had appeared to belong to Estes, whom CBS commentator Gary McCord used to call Robo-Pro because of his meticulous, mechanical preparation. When Estes holed a 25-foot par-saving putt from the fringe at the 14th to maintain a two-stroke lead, it looked like the shot of the day, but he missed the green to bogey the par-3 17th and three-putted from 30 feet for another bogey at 18. "Coming to those last four holes, I didn't doubt I was going to win," Estes said. "I was hitting it too good and putting pretty good. I thought for sure it was mine, but golf is a game of fractions of inches."

The playoff was brief. Verplank's drive at the par-4 18th hole found the heavy rough. His lie was so bad that he couldn't reach the green in two. Dodds, who had birdied the 426-yard hole all four rounds, put his tee shot in the fairway a dozen feet from the spot that he had hit from earlier in the day. He stuck his approach within 10 feet of the hole. After Verplank pitched on and missed his par putt, Dodds two-putted for the win.

Considering where these two players have been, they both, seemed like winners. "I haven't been a great second-place finisher in the past," Verplank said, "but at this point I'm happy I held it together and played good enough to win. I was just a whisker away."

The victory opened a world of opportunities for Dodds, not the least of which is the chance to make good on a promise he made to himself years ago. He pledged to turn down all offers to play Augusta National until he qualified for the Masters.

The money, and the man who handed it over, were also pretty cool. The $396,000 first-prize check and the newly renamed trophy, the Sam Snead Cup, were presented by Slammin' Sammy himself, an eight-time winner of this event. Earlier in the week the 85-year-old Snead was seen hitting putts at a nearby course. Naturally, a crowd gathered to watch, and before long a news photographer showed up. "When I go to hell, there'll be a f———camera waiting," Snead growled.

Maybe there's a sure thing in golf after all.