Entering the 2026 DICK'S Open, Dicky Pride carried an emotional weight of being a single-tournament winner across the sport's various levels he played in his career.

So when he secured his second career PGA Tour Champions title after defeating Padraig Harrington on the first playoff hole at En-Joie Golf Course, which allowed him to break that 'single win' barrier, Pride couldn't hold his emotion.

“This is the first time I’ve won two times on a tour,” Pride said after the win, per PGA Tour Champions official X account. “I won on the PGA Tour, I won on the Korn Ferry, and I won once out here. And I would love to act like it didn't bother me, and it really did."

Pride’s only PGA Tour victory came way back in 1994 at the Federal Express St. Jude Classic. It was his 19th career start. He played more than 460 PGA Tour events but never won again. 

His lone Korn Ferry Tour title arrived in 2015 at the WinCo Foods Portland Open. But again, that was his only win in 186 tries there. Pride's only previous Champions win came at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Classic, where he Monday-qualified his way into the field and won anyway.

So, Sunday's victory also ended a winless run of over five years. That breakthrough didn't happen by accident, though.

“I’ve worked really hard," Pride added, per the PGA Tour Champions X account. "After the Simmons Bank Championship (on Oct. 24-28) last year, I called Todd (Jones, director of instruction at the PGA Tour Golf Academy) and said, ‘This has got to get better. It’s got to get better.’ And I went to work the week after the Simmons Bank Championship, and I’d played 25 events, I think."

Before this week, Pride had two top-10 finishes and 8 top-25 finishes in 2026 and had earned $313,753 on the season. And now Dick's Open's $330,000 winner's share outpaced everything he'd made all year combined.

"It meant a lot. I've worked really hard, it's come together," he added.

Harrington's lead slipped away in the final round

The World Golf Hall of Famer, Padraig Harrington, won the Dick’s Open in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and didn't play last year's event. But he came back strong for his fourth title, holding the 36-hole lead by one shot over Pride.

Pride birdied five of his first eight holes to take control, then added birdies at 11, 15, and 16 against a single bogey at 13.

Harrington, meanwhile, played well and ended with a final-round 66, but couldn't match Pride's number. He birdied the last hole to force the playoff with both finishing at 18-under-par.

The playoff did not last long. Pride made par on the 18th hole while Harrington missed his par putt and had to settle for runner-up, one shot short of his fourth Dick’s Open title and 12th PGA TOUR Champions victory.

Can Dicky Pride carry this momentum into the rest of the 2026 season? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Md Saife Fida

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore