RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- The fifth time was the charm for Richard Johnson.
Playing in the final pairing for the fifth time this season, Johnson finally took home top honors on Sunday with his playoff victory at the wind-swept Mark Christopher Charity Classic presented by the County of San Bernardino.
Johnson (67), who began the day one shot behind third-round leader Tom Gillis (70), was shaky out of the gate with a double bogey on the par-4 opening hole. He steadied the ship, however, and played solid golf the rest of the way, adding birdies on Nos. 5 and 8 to make the turn at even par.
He then chalked up four consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-16 to finish in a tie with Matthew Jones (66) and Jeremy Anderson (66) at 11-under-par 273.
"I got off to an awful start with just nothing going right," said Johnson, who only hit three of 14 fairways in regulation. "I was missing fairways by a foot on every hole it seemed. I was just plodding along and then I went crazy. I made putts like crazy on the back nine."
After Jones and Anderson both found the greenside water hazard in the extra stanza, Johnson chipped from off the green to within two feet of the hole and then tapped in for birdie and the victory -- his third to go along with wins at the 1999 Florida Classic and the 2000 Monterey Peninsula Classic.
"This feels really good," said Johnson. "It isn't necessarily a monkey off of my back because I've won before. But it is nice to win again. It was the first playoff of my career, so to win one of these is good, too."
Santa Ana winds, which gusted up to 45 mph during the early morning hours, played havoc with the unfortunate players who teed off early on Sunday, but as if on cue, the winds completely ceased prior to Johnson and the other leaders teeing off at the par-71 Empire Lakes Golf Club.
The 35-year-old native of Cardiff, Wales capitalized on the benign afternoon conditions. But instead of taking all of the credit for his six-birdie effort, the former Augusta State University All-American deflected the praise to his caddie, Mike Harwood -- who calmed Johnson down after the hiccup on the opening hole.
"My caddie has a flat line for a heartbeat," said Johnson, who ran the Waffle House restaurant on Washington Road in Augusta, Ga., during Masters Week in 1997. "After the double bogey, he said we still have 17 holes to go. That helped calm me down and I played really good golf the rest of the way."
Johnson collects $94,500 with the victory and moves from No. 12 to No. 4 on the money list -- well within THE 25 who will receive PGA TOUR cards in 2008. The win also caps off a season that has had many highlights for the Fort Smith, Ark., resident -- including seven top-10 finishes.
"I was pretty much a lock before this week, but this definitely seals the deal," said Johnson, who has earned $305,921 and will be playing his rookie season on TOUR next year. "Moving higher on the money list will help me plan my schedule a little better next year. Everyone has a lifetime dream of playing on the PGA TOUR and I can't wait to fulfill mine next year."
The runner-up finish was familiar territory for Jones, who has finished second four times this season. He finished runner-up at the South Georgia Classic in early April, and has recently added three second-place finishes in his last five starts (National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic, Oregon Classic and the Mark Christopher Charity Classic).
"I know I'm going to get a win at some point because I'm playing so well," said Jones, who moves to No. 7 on the money list. "If not this year, then next year. I'm disappointed to not win but being in the playoff means I'm playing well. It was another good week for me."
Final-Round News & Notes: Matthew Jones has now finished inside the top five in four of his last five starts, including the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic (tie for second), Oregon Classic (second/playoff), Albertsons Boise Open (tie for fifth) and the Mark Christopher Charity Classic (second/playoff). ... Speaking of streaks, Jon Mills (tie for ninth) has now finished inside the top 16 in his last six starts. ... The round of the day was turned in by Brad Adamonis, Tommy Tolles, Jeremy Anderson and Matthew Jones with matching 5-under 66s. ... In his five appearances in the final group this year, Richard Johnson has now posted one victory, two runner-up finishes, a third-place effort and a sixth-place showing. ... With Tom Gillis failing to win, the 54-hole leader has now won just 14 times in 28 events, including most recently Franklin Langham at the Utah EnergySolutions Championship. In 12 72-hole events at the Mark Christopher Charity Classic, the 54-hole leader has gone on to win just five times. ... The cumulative scoring average was 71.667, the highest since the tournament moved to Empire Lakes in 2000. ... Bogey-free rounds on Sunday were turned in by Brian Smock (67) and Keith Nolan (69), bringing the total of bogey-free rounds for the week to seven. ... The Nationwide Tour heads to Texas next week for the WNB Golf Classic, the 29th event of the season. Last year, Brandt Snedeker defeated Aron Price on the first hole of a playoff to win the event.
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