PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Sean O'Hair felt as if he was doing everything required of a winner except winning.

Despite long hours on the practice range, he found himself toward the bottom of the leaderboard, if he even made the cut. A weekend off at the Honda Classic last week gave him ample time to visit with his father-in-law, and the message finally got through.

"He told me how he believed in me, how he felt I was on the right track, and if I started believing in myself, everything would happen," O'Hair said yesterday after winning the PODS Championship.

"I didn't believe him. But I guess he was right."

It required solid play, two good pars and a birdie putt that O'Hair described as the best of his career. But he also needed a meltdown from Stewart Cink, who lost four shots in four holes.

The 25-year-old O'Hair energized his young career with his second PGA Tour victory, closing with a 2-under 69 for a two-shot victory that earned him a trip to the Masters and a spot in the $8 million World Golf Championship at Doral.

"This is not going to hurt my confidence," said O'Hair, who finished at 4-under 280. "I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."

O'Hair hadn't won since 2005, when he was a rookie and golf felt easy. He had fallen to No. 75 in the world.

Cink saw his tee shot stop next to a tree that led to bogey on a par 5, missed a 4-foot birdie on the next hole, then followed that with a tee shot into the water at the 16th. He wound up with a 74 to finish in a six-way tie for second.

"I'm a little shell-shocked and a little bit angry," Cink said. "I'm extremely frustrated after this. What happened to me — what I allowed to happen to me — is going to make me a better player in the future. But I've got some soul-searching to do."

John Senden closed with a 67 and was runner-up for the second straight year. He tied for second with Cink, Ryuji Imada (68), George McNeill (69), Troy Matteson (69) and Billy Mayfair (72).

ELSEWHERE

Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer outlasted defending champion Jay Haas in the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach, Calif., birdieing the final hole of regulation to force a playoff and winning with a birdie when Haas missed a 3-footer on the seventh extra hole.

After bogeying the par-3 17th to drop a stroke behind, Langer made a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to force the playoff at 14-under 199. Haas closed with a 6-under 65, while Langer had a 69.

Former Kailua resident Scott Simpson (65), Ben Crenshaw (67) and Gary McCord (67) tied for third at 11 under.

European Tour: Arjun Atwal, the Indian player involved in a fatal car accident last year, won the Malaysian Open at Kuala Lumpur, beating defending champion Peter Hedblom of Sweden with a par on the second hole of a playoff.

Atwal birdied the 18th to force the playoff. He finished with an 8-under 64 to match Hedblom (71) at 18-under 270.

Atwal, a three-time European tour winner, hasn't been charged in the March 10, 2007, accident in Orlando, Fla., that killed John Park. Witnesses have said Atwal and Park were street racing.