CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) – Rod Pampling made a 31-foot eagle putt from the fringe on the 17th hole to move past Alex Cejka and earn his first PGA Tour victory in The International on Sunday.

Pampling scored only two points in the final round and trailed Cejka by three shots on the par-5 17th.

He hit a big tee shot and landed his approach in the fringe just right of the flag. He then curled in the putt from the right, pumping his fist as it dropped for five points in the tournament’s modified Stableford system.

Pampling closed with a par to finish with 31 points, taking home the $900,000 first-place check and some momentum heading into the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits next weekend.

Cejka, who trailed by a point at the start of the round, was hurt by double bogeys on Nos. 8 and 16, losing six points on those two holes. Had it been a stroke-play tournament, Cejka would have beaten Pampling 71 to 73.

Tom Pernice was third with 27 points and Duffy Waldorf had 26 to finish fourth.

Chris DiMarco had a commanding nine-point lead after scoring 31 points the first two rounds, only to see it slip away with eight bogeys in a third round that dropped him into a tie with Pampling.

DiMarco’s collapse left 17 players within 10 points of the lead – two eagles in this format – and gave every one of the 44 players who made the cut a chance heading into a potentially wild final round.

There was plenty of wildness, but not the kind that normally comes in a format that give players up to 8 points for a double eagle. With some difficult pin positions, a little extra wind and plenty of nerves, The International’s typical soundtrack of cheers and roars was replaced by groans and moans.

Pampling took the early lead with a birdie on the first hole, dropped into a tie after bogeys at Nos. 5 and 7 and took the lead at No. 9 after Cejka’s first double bogey.

Pernice moved into a brief tie for the lead at 28 points after Pampling had a bogey at the 10th, but dropped back with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12.

Pampling followed with a bogey on the par-4 12th after pulling his approach shot into the water left of the green, and Cejka moved ahead three points with birdies on 13 and 14.

But then it was Cejka’s turn to fall back.

He pushed his tee shot on the par-3 16th well into the gallery right of the green, then three-putted for a double bogey that dropped him into a tie with Pampling.

At that point, Waldorf looked like he might win it after finishing with 26 points nearly an hour earlier.

But Cejka regrouped on the par-five 17th. After Pernice two-puttted for birdie to tie for the lead with 27 points, Cejka followed with a two-putt birdie of his own to go back up.

Pampling seemed to be in trouble after needing three putts from the fringe for a bogey at 16, but came through with a drive down the middle and left his approach flag-high for the clinching putt.

It was a similar outcome to 2001, when no one mounted much of a charge and Pernice won with a one-point final round.

As for DiMarco, he never seem to recover from his disastrous third round.

Starting off with 29 points, he made the turn with just 24 after bogeys on Nos. 3, 5, 6, 8 and at 9 after hitting into the water right of the fairway for the second straight day.

AP-ES-08-08-04 1857EDT