PAY DAY—With a one-stroke win at Sherwood Country Club, Jim Furyk claimed $1.35 million. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers Jim Furyk had more than a million reasons to smile following Sunday’s final round of the Chevron World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks.

The Pennsylvania-born sharpshooter fired his second consecutive round of 67 to win the annual local showcase by one stroke over Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.

Furyk, who pocketed a hefty $1.35-million first-place check, posted a four-day total of 275— good for 13-under par—in claiming his first professional tournament title since winning the 2007 Canadian Open.

“Obviously it feels really good,” said the 39-year-old golfer. “I joked about it on the 18th green. I think my only win since Canada was a grand slam last year, you know, four-player field.

AT THE PIN—Jim Furyk hits an approach shot on the 18th hole during Sunday’s final round of the Chevron World Challenge. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers “So to go out there and play against a good field of 18 players—and really after six weeks off I came here with pretty low expectations. . . . I really wanted to get away for a while, and when you do come back, you’re just in a good frame of mind.”

Furyk’s final three holes of the tournament were magical.

After an eagle putt on the par-5 16th stopped centimeters short of the cup, Furyk made birdie to regain a one-stroke lead. The joy was short-lived, however, as Furyk quickly found himself in a deep bunker off the tee on the par-3 17th.

“I had no play, honestly,” he said. “I couldn’t get that ball close. If you gave me 50 balls, I might be able to skip one off the front fringe.”

Furyk used a 9-iron to draw within 40 feet of the flag.

“Best shot I hit all day, by far, and I hit it flush,” he said.

A dramatic par-saving putt followed, and Furyk rode the momentum into a birdie on the par-4 18th to put his score out of reach for the other half-dozen golfers within striking distance.

McDowell, who replaced Tiger Woods just days before the tournament began, became a sentimental crowd favorite following his late arrival.

The Irishman was a co-leader after three rounds and wound up finishing second to Furyk at 12under par 276. McDowell, who has never won a PGA Tour event, earned $800,000.

“The first nine holes on Thursday, I just felt a little bit weird still,” McDowell said. “And then I kind of got going, you know. I played pretty well on the back nine on Thursday, and from there I really felt sort of part of the event.”

Having likely secured an invite to next year’s Masters by virtue of his performance at Sherwood, McDowell still has one more event to compete in before he can close the book on 2009.

“I’m going to the Merrill Lynch Shark Shootout (this) week in Naples and then home to Ireland to see the family for Christmas,” he said. “I’ll just chill out, maybe drink a couple of cold beers, relax and put the feet up.”

Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington tied for third at 11-under-par 277. There was a four-way tie for fifth place between Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Sean O’Hair and Ian Poulter at 9-under.

“It was very exciting out there today,” said Harrington of the final round. “You could hear a lot of cheering, but this golf course lends itself to that because there are a lot of chances to make birdies and eagles.”

News and notes

• Despite the absence of tournament host Tiger Woods, the fourday attendance was up from 47,467 in 2008 to 51,963 this year. Woods, of course, didn’t participate in last year’s event because of knee surgery, but he did attend.

• Paul Casey shot a tournament-best 8-under-par 64 on Sunday, carding six birdies and an eagle.

• Colombian Camilo Villegas holed out from 262 yards away on the 568-yard, par-5 13th hole Sunday. He used a 3-wood in earning the rare double-eagle.

• According to the Tiger Woods Foundation, which benefits greatly from the tournament, more than 8,000 youngsters participated in classes at the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim last year. In addition, the Foundation awarded 75 grants to youth-based organizations worldwide in 2008. Visit the website www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org for more information.