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By Dave Lagarde, PGATOUR.com Correspondent

BROUSSARD, La. -- There's a golf term that fits Skip Kendall to, well, a tee.

Skip Kendall made just three bogeys during his four rounds in the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries.

And that would be "grinder.'' A slightly built veteran of 10 seasons on the PGA TOUR, Kendall is nothing if not one of professional golf's ultimate grinders, a player who doesn't know the meaning of the word quit, who squeezes the most out of his God-given ability through hours upon hours of sweat equity.

Kendall's main focus in 2007 is finding his way back onto the PGA TOUR after two atypically poor seasons in 2005 and 2006, due in large part to a plethora of injuries and a frustrating bout with vertigo. And because he squeezed extremely hard this week in Cajun Country, he moved a lot closer to achieving his goal.

On Sunday, Kendall made two late birdies, cobbled together a round of one-under-par 70 at Le Triomphe Golf Club under cloudy skies and breezy conditions, and then was forced to go to overtime to defeat hard-charging Paul Claxton on the third hole of a playoff in the Nationwide Tour's Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries.

Given Kendall's three previous rounds of five-under-par 66s, one would assume Kendall's route to the winner's circle was totally clear of impediments. Claxton, who shot a five-under-par 31 coming home that included a 22-foot birdie putt on the 72nd, provided a major hurdle.

Nevertheless, Kendall, who had played in 384 events on the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour since his last victory in the 1994 Carolina Classic on the Nationwide Tour, did what he does best.

"I hung in there,'' a relieved Kendall said after scoring his well-deserved victory with a six-foot birdie putt. "If you're ever going to have a putt to win, that's the kind you want. A right edge putt straight up the hill.''

Kendall pumped his fist in the air when the ball disappeared. Then he gazed heavenward as if to give thanks for ending his title drought.

Needless to say the win has been a long time coming -- 12 years, eight months and 27 days to be exact -- so it's no small wonder Kendall is best known in many golf circles as the player who taught Chris DiMarco the "claw'' grip on the putter. And it will allow him to make good on a pledge he made to his son Noah, 8.

"He's been walking by the trophy case for a long time, wondering if the things in there were fake or if I bought them or somewhere,'' said Kendall, who snapped an 0-for-3 streak in playoffs, all on the PGA TOUR. "I promised to bring home a big one one day, so this sure feels good.''

If Kendall is correct, Noah wasn't the only one celebrating at the Kendall household in Windermere, Fla.

"I'll bet Traci (Kendall's wife) is doing cartwheels right now,'' he said, grinning.

Kendall was quick to give credit to his support group -- swing coach Mike Bender, personal trainer David Herman, short-game coach James Sieckmann. But he heaped the most praise on Traci for acting as a motivational force when things were darkest in 2005 and 2006.

"She was the one who always said, 'Don't give up,' '' he said. "She was always pushing me to go out and practice, even when I didn't want to.''

And there were times when the thought of practicing was the farthest thing from this grinder's mind. He hurt his back bending over to grab a towel after a workout prior to the Sony Open in Hawaii. It led to a laundry list of ailments.

"You name it and I've had it,'' Kendall said. "The back problems led to a lot of other things, too. It was a disaster of a year health-wise. I tried to play through it, but that was a mistake.''

Then the vertigo set in, making playing golf at the highest level a near impossibility.

"That's the reason I'm out here again,'' he said of the Nationwide Tour.

But Kendall, expressing equal parts relief and elation as the sun set Sunday, has accepted his fate with the understanding that a successful season here will help him get back to where he feels he should be. He figures he will play in some tournaments on the PGA TOUR this season, but his main focus will be on the Nationwide Tour, which will offer playing privileges on the PGA TOUR in 2008 to the top 25 members on the season-ending money list.

"I don't to do anything that would interfere with re-gaining my status,'' said Kendall, whose winner's take of $90,000 bumped him to No. 4 on the money ladder.

Kendall has something else to work out as he grinds through the Nationwide Tour season. That's game improvement.

"I want to see if I can get my game to where it was, late 1990s, 2001, 2002, 2003,'' he said, referring to the good times when he bankrolled the majority of $7 million-plus in earnings. "I know I can play out there, but unfortunately, I got hurt in 2005 and had some bad play because of that. I hope to get back to where I was and actually exceed at that. I believe good things are going to happen.''

On Sunday they certainly did.