Pernice tops Garwood in Principal Charity Classic playoff
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Des Moines, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tom Pernice Jr. birdied the second playoff hole on Sunday to defeat Doug Garwood and win the Principal Charity Classic.
Pernice carded a 3-under 69 at Wakonda Club to meet Garwood at 12-under-par 204. Garwood, who was the second-round leader, shot a 1-under 71 in the final round.
Bill Glasson (64), Jay Haas (67), Mark Calcavecchia (70) and Michael Allen (71) shared third place at 11-under, while Joe Durant (70) finished alone in seventh at minus-10.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bobby Clampett (68) and Tom Lehman (70) tied for eighth at 9-under 207.
Pernice and Garwood returned to the par-4 18th tee for both playoff holes.
At the first extra hole, Pernice hit the green with his approach while Garwood found a greenside bunker.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Garwood, however, was able to blast to about five feet and converted his par effort after Pernice missed his birdie putt.
Garwood again missed the green on the second playoff as Pernice stuck his second shot to within eight feet of the hole.
After Garwood's chip rolled past the left side of the hole, Pernice drained his birdie putt to collect his third career victory on the Champions Tour.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I knew it was going to be a tough day. I just tried to stay really relaxed and really calm," Pernice said. "It's not easy to ever win, but today was a tough day and it's great to come out with a win.
Garwood entered the day with a 1-shot lead over Allen and opened his round with a birdie at the first to add to his advantage.
After Allen bogeyed the fourth to fall to 9-under, Garwood converted a birdie at the fourth to move to 13-under and open up a 4-stroke lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Calcavecchia and Durant would each birdie the fifth to pull within three of the lead, but Garwood also birdied the fifth to reclaim his cushion.
Garwood then found trouble with three straight bogeys from the sixth to fall to 11-under and into a tie for the lead with Glasson, who had recorded six birdies and an eagle during a bogey-free round to claim the clubhouse lead.
Pernice, meanwhile, had a pair of birdies and a bogey during an outward 35 to make the turn at 10-under before consecutive gains at the 12th and 13th moved him to the top of the leaderboard at minus-12.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A bogey at the 14th dropped him back to 11-under and into a tie for the lead, but a chip-in birdie at the 17th put him back in sole possession of first place.
"I pride myself on my short game," Pernice said. "I went to my caddie Freddie and I said, 'Well we might as well chip it in' and lo and behold it went right in. That obviously was the key."
After Pernice failed to convert a birdie putt at the last that would have sealed the win, Garwood capped his round with back-to-back birdies at the 17th and 18th to force the playoff.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NOTES: Pernice's other victories on tour came at the 2009 SAS Championship and the 2013 3M Championship ... With his second-place finish, Garwood earns a spot in the upcoming Encompass Championship ... Glasson's 64 in the final round tied the course record.