Ames goes up and down to win in Orlando

Stephen Ames was probably tired of hearing the phrase "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride" for this year. After contending in two majors and revamping his swing due to back problems, just the fact that he was playing in the Children's Miracle Network sponsored by Wal-Mart in Orlando was probably enough for Ames.

So, what does he do? He goes out and wins the whole dang thing.

Ames ran off three straight birdies on the back nine at Disney, the last one a 4-iron that was close to perfect, then saved par from 65 feet away in a bunker on the closing hole for a one-shot victory. Ames closed with a 4-under 68, and that bunker shot to 3 feet for par on the 18th hole at the Magnolia Course was enough to hold off hard-charging Tim Clark in the final PGA Tour event of the season.

I was happy to see him finish this way and grab the win--I mean, Clark didn't even "need" to be there, and the big focus was on players like Kevin Stadler who eeked his way into the top 125. So for there to be an even better feel-good story like Ames made it all worth watching.

Congrats, Stephen, you ended a great tournament in a great way!

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Ames goes up and down to win in Orlando

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