TIMONIUM, Md. — D.A. Weibring can remember times when he played exceptionally well and still ended up watching someone else receive the winner's trophy at a major.

And so he made no apologies after it finally became his turn to take home the hardware.

Down by four strokes with 14 holes to play, Weibring soared past a fading Nick Price and held off a host of challengers yesterday to win the Senior Players Championship, his first career major victory in 65 tries.

Weibring closed out a 2-under 68 with a 2-foot par putt on the 72nd hole. He finished at 9-under 271, one stroke better than hometown favorite Fred Funk (66).

On a day in which four of the top seven finishers bogeyed 18, closing with five straight pars was good enough to provide Weibring with a crystal trophy and $390,000 — the biggest payday of his career.

"I had a couple of fortunate things happen," Weibring said. "I didn't play my best golf. I've played better in the final round and haven't been rewarded. It was just my time, and I'm very proud to have won."

Price (71), Ben Crenshaw (66) and Jeff Sluman (69) finished at 7 under, and Jay Haas (68) followed at 6 under.

It was Weibring's fifth win in six years on the Champions Tour, and one of the most significant of his entire career. He was 0-for-39 in major tournaments on the PGA Tour and 0-for-25 on the 50-and-over circuit.

Weibring's final round included four birdies, but the 55-year-old's biggest shots were on holes he parred. He salvaged par on 16 after hitting a 6-iron into the bunker, then drained a difficult 9-foot putt on 17 to maintain his grasp on the slim lead.

Weibring got help from Price, who missed a 3-foot birdie putt on 17 that would have created a tie at the top.

TEXAS OPEN

SAN ANTONIO — Zach Johnson won the Texas Open yesterday for his fourth PGA Tour title, following his third-round 62 with a 64 for a two-stroke victory over Charlie Wi, Mark Wilson and Tim Wilkinson. Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion who entered the week with only one top-10 finish this year, had a 19-under 261 and won $810,00. Castle High alum Dean Wilson shot 68—275 to win $12,760.

LONGS DRUGS CHALLENGE

DANVILLE, Calif. — South Korea's In-Kyung Kim won the Longs Drugs Challenge for her first LPGA Tour victory, closing with a 1-over 73 in gusty conditions for a three-stroke victory over Angela Stanford. The 20-year-old Kim, the 2005 U.S. Girls' Junior winner in her second season on the tour, birdied the final two holes for a 10-under 278 total and won $180,000.

MADRID MASTERS

MADRID, Spain — South Africa's Charl Schwartzel won the Madrid Masters for his second European tour victory, closing with a 5-under 66 for a three-stroke victory over Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez. Schwartzel finished at 19-under 265.