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Michael Allen was stunned for a second, staring at the 4-foot par putt he missed on the 18th hole that dropped him into a tie with Bernhard Langer for the lead at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.
Then he felt the whipping wind -- gusting to 30 mph at times -- hitting him the face. Maybe he wasn't in such a bad spot after all.
"It was very, very tough to judge the wind out there," Allen said.
Sure enough, the 54-year-old was back on the 18th green celebrating about 45 minutes later.
Allen started the day two shots behind the leaders, but made five birdies on the front nine to vault into the lead and held on for his first victory of the season and fourth on the Champions Tour. He navigated the windy conditions brilliantly at Fallen Oak until the final five holes, where he had three bogeys.
He finished the day with a 5-under 67 and was 11 under for the tournament, but the missed putt on 18 had put a victory in jeopardy.
"That was a very, very empty feeling," Allen said. "A terrible feeling."
Turns out he had already done enough to win.
"It's always nice to get a win," Allen said. "I played great today. I played solid all week and really putted well today. It has its emotional ups and downs -- no question."
Read more http://espn.go.com/golf/story/_/id/...hampions-tour-mississippi-gulf-resort-classic
