PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Justin Rose of Britain and Peter Hanson of Sweden won the Tyco Golf Skills Challenge at the Breakers on Monday.
Rose and Hanson - teammates on this year's Ryder Cup-winning European team - beat recent U.S. Ryder Cup rivals Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley in the Reverse Scramble finale on a breezy day to secure the title.
``It crosses your mind a little bit,'' Rose said when asked if there was any Ryder Cup feel during the final event. ``The only Ryder Cup element would be a teasing one, maybe a gentle joke or something like that.''
The Reverse Scramble went to two tee-offs before being decided in a chip-off. Hanson chipped to within 2 feet, 10 inches of the hole, beating out Bradley's chip that was 3 feet, 6 inches away.
``The biggest skill today was survival,'' Rose said. ``The weather was kind of tough.''
The other teams that took part in the event were Zach Johnson and Kyle Stanley, and Mark O'Meara and Mark Calcavecchia. The six skills were: long drive, mid-iron, bunker shot, chip shot, trouble shot, and short iron.
Hanson and Rose, making their inaugural appearance at this event, only won one of the six skills: the bunker shot. They earned $285,000 in the made-for-TV event that will air on NBC on Dec. 29-30. Johnson and Bradley won $223,000 for taking second place.
Bradley and Johnson won the long drive with Bradley's 270 yard shot and they also captured n the mid-iron and chip shot competition. The veteran pairing of Calcavecchia and O'Meara won the trouble shot and short iron.
``It was fun and we hung in there and could've been done earlier,'' Bradley said. ``Those guys were great competitors and it's a really tough format. There was a lot of action out there.''
In the Reverse Scramble semifinals, Rose and Hanson beat out O'Meara and Calcavecchia, while Johnson and Bradley moved into the final over Zach Johnson and Kyle Stanley.
O'Meara and Calcavecchia came in third to win $158,000. Johnson and Stanley finished fourth to earn $134,000.
