Hogan’s Alley is not a track for the timid, nor for the untested. The third-round leaders of the Northern Trust Open became aware of this as a dozen golfers made birdie after birdie on Sunday afternoon and created an entirely new script for the tournament resolution.

Bubba Watson made amends for his late miscues two weeks ago at the Waste Management Phoenix Open by seizing the lead with six birdies in his first 11 holes. Despite threats from Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel, Watson held on for a two-stroke victory and his first tournament win since the 2012 Masters.

Click here to see photos of the clubs Watson used in victory.

It’s difficult to overcome a no-bogey effort by any competitor and Bubba Watson gave his opponents little room to make a move. Watson paired seven birdies with 11 pars for his second-consecutive 64 and a 15-under total. The occasional dramatic shot, like Charl Schwartzel’s birdie hole-out on No. 13 from a greenside bunker, or Cameron Tringale’s long putt for two on No. 6 served to excite the gallery for a time. Midway through the round, Watson found himself tied with William McGirt (the third-round leader), Dustin Johnson and Brian Harman for the lead. Johnson did his best to overtake Watson, completing his own bogey-free round of 66, but came up two strokes shy of the leader.

For a time, a number of feel-good stories held the headlines. Monday qualifier Jason Allred charmed television viewers with his uplifting attitude and eventually tied for third with Brian Harman at 12-under par. South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel came in fifth alone at 11-under.

After his all-world front nine, Watson did what a champion must: he made no mistakes coming home and added two birdies to force his challengers to make even greater chase. None but Johnson was able to do so and Watson secured his sixth career PGA Tour victory.

Third round leader William McGirt was unable to ignite his putter as he did on Saturday, making only one birdie in Round 4 against three birdies, eventually tying for 6th with Bryce Molder, Matt Every and George McNeill.