When you’re 56 years old and you’ve got a devoted wife and kid who share your love of the game, you’ve already won.

Mark Wiebe knew that long before he joined a select few in the media room late Sunday afternoon, with wife Cathy seeing him hoist a trophy for the first time since 1985. After Wiebe’s heartfelt interview with Star-Advertiser reporter Ann Miller and PGA Tour official Phil Stambaugh, Cathy alerted her husband that his son, Gunner, had sent a text of congrats from a faraway land, completing the family circle.

Mark Wiebe had tears in his eyes, I guess, after following a tried-and-true formula of boy gets lead in golf tournament, boy loses lead in golf tournament, boy gets lead back in golf tournament.

Wiebe began Sunday’s final round of the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship with a two-shot lead over Vijay Singh and a three-stroke advantage on Corey Pavin. The threesome was matched up in the final pairing, with Singh the early-morning betting favorite. He is tinkering with his swing, and while it worked well enough on a leisurely Saturday, under the bright lights of Sunday afternoon it sent Singh south on the leaderboard, and any chance of winning went with it.

Anybody entertaining any thoughts of asking how that final round went only had to look in Singh’s eyes after that untimely bogey on 18, not to mention the double on 13, to see the better part of valor was to simply step aside. The Big Fijian had failed in his attempt to become the 17th player in Champions Tour history to win his opening event.

Pavin had his backers as well. And why not? This guy has been hotter than a pepper sprout since July. The only thing missing on the mantle is a trophy in this two-month stretch where Pavin has finished runner-up three consecutive tournaments and third two other times. He had his chances, but when Wiebe rolled in a putt for par from somewhere off Main Street, the two-hole playoff was done.

WIEBE WAS ALMOST apologetic in the media room over how things ended. He explained there’s no real pressure in a playoff because you can’t do any worse than second.

"But you don’t want to win it with a par," Wiebe said, certain he would drain that 20-footer to at least extend the playoff. After Pavin missed his par attempt from half that distance, it was time to cue Willie Nelson: The party was over for him.

For Wiebe, it was just beginning.

Still a little stunned at beating a field that included nine of the top 10 Schwab Cup leaders — not to mention Hall of Famers like Bernhard Langer and Fred Couples nipping at your cleats down the stretch — well it was a bit overwhelming for Wiebe, Inc. They shared their son’s texts with Stambaugh and Miller and hoped to catch a plane ride that would take them to the next stop on the Champions Tour.

It was a successful weekend for all concerned. A nice crowd came out on an NFL Sunday afternoon, the field was deep and the extra holes provided an air of suspense. The Wiebes had everything they wanted.

"We’ve got about an hour," Wiebe said, before exiting the building, stage right.

When you’re 56, you don’t know when winning will end. But in Wiebe’s world, he can’t lose.