The 6-foot par putt was still halfway to the cup when Jim Furyk raised his arm, turned and slammed his fist to punctuate his playoff victory and bury a few demons yesterday in the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C.

There was that four-hole playoff he lost at Quail Hollow last year. In his last tournament three weeks ago at Hilton Head, S.C., he watched 10-foot putts graze the lip on his last two holes to finish one shot behind.

"It's nice to come out and get it done this time," he said.

Furyk had to work hard for his 11th career victory, making an 8-foot par putt on the 18th hole in regulation to close with a 1-under 71 and force a playoff with Trevor Immelman, then making the 6-footer on the 18th in a playoff to write a happier ending on a cold, rainy afternoon at Quail Hollow.

But while Furyk was gritty as ever, he needed some help.

Immelman only had to two-putt for par from 50 feet on the 18th green in regulation, but ran his first attempt 10 feet by the cup and missed his par putt to the left. On the 18th hole in the playoff, Immelman fanned his drive into the right rough, had to lay up well short of the green, and his third shot spun off the front. The best he could do was bogey.

"When you come that close, you're disappointed to not finish the job," said Immelman, who had a two-shot lead with five holes to play and shot 70. "It's my best finish on the PGA Tour, and I've got to build on that."

Furyk had two good looks at birdie in the playoff last year and missed them both. He couldn't afford to miss anything down the stretch this year, and he didn't.

No putt was bigger than the 8-footer in regulation, one that left him stumped. He studied it from both sides, and he crouched behind the ball. Caddie Mike "Fluff" Cowan was chattering away, convincing Furyk it was relatively straight.

"I did a good job hitting that putt right where he said, and he made a great read," Furyk said.

LPGA TOUR

KERR VICTORIOUS

Cristie Kerr overcame a four-stroke deficit to win her seventh LPGA Tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Lorena Ochoa, Pat Hurst and Angela Stanford in the Franklin American Mortgage Championship in Franklin, Tenn.

Kerr had five birdies in her bogey-free round to finish with a tournament-record 19-under 269 total on the Vanderbilt Legends Club's Ironhorse Course. Kerr broke the mark of 17 under set by Annika Sorenstam in 2002, and matched the lowest score on tour this year, Ochoa's 19 under in the 54-hole Takefuji Classic.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

BRYANT TOPS MCNULTY

Brad Bryant won the Regions Charity Classic for his second Champions Tour victory of the year, closing with an eagle, birdie and a par for an 8-under 64 and a two-stroke victory over Mark McNulty in Hoover, Ala.

Bryant hovered within striking distance with a bogey-free tournament before finally overtaking McNulty on No. 17. Bryant finished with a 17-under 199 total.