LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Tripp Isenhour knew if he stayed patient long enough on a difficult golf course that he’d have a chance to win at the end. The veteran from Florida followed his game plan to perfection en route to a final-round 68 and a three-shot win over Paul Sheehan (71) at the inaugural Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship.

The 37-year old Floridian finished at 9-under-par 279 to grab his second title of 2006, despite the Nationwide Tour schedule being only in its’ fifth week. The first-place check of $108,000 vaults Isenhour to the top of the money list with $218,221, which should be good enough to keep him in the top-20 through the end of the year and earn a trip back to the PGA TOUR in 2007.

“I saw some light at the end of the tunnel but I didn’t think it would come like this,” said Isenhour, who also won the season-opening Movistar Panama Championship. “It’s amazing for it all to come this quickly. I’m in shock and awe. It’s nice to have enough money at this point that I can play very aggressively from here on out and try to win another one.”

Isenhour chased Jacob’s Creek Open Championship winner Sheehan during most of Sunday’s final round at The Course at Wente Vineyards. Second and third-round leader Jeff Quinney (75-284) struggled to make birdies and the final round eventually turned into a two-man race. Sheehan birdied five of the first six holes to jump out to 10-under par and a three-stroke lead over Isenhour and Quinney, who would never get closer.

“That is just experience,” said Isenhour of not panicking early on. “Paul was flagging everything but it was all these gray hairs that kept me in it. I knew I was playing well and if I kept doing that I’d have chances to make birdies. This is a difficult golf course and I knew he wouldn’t get too far away from me.”

Isenhour kept on Sheehan’s heels until the pivotal, par-5, 15th. Sheehan was at 10-under and led by two when Isenhour chipped to within eight feet and made the birdie to tie Sheehan, who made bogey.

“At that point I knew it was just Paul and me,” said Isenhour. “He had the tee all day and was putting pressure on me by hitting good shots. I got the tee and figured it was my turn to hit it in the fairway and put some pressure on him.”

Two holes later, the match turned for good at the 453-yard, 17th when Sheehan’s tee shot found the hazard and he would hack and chip his way to a disastrous double-bogey. Meantime, Isenhour pulled his 6-iron approach left of his intended target, the middle of the green, and wound up 10 feet away for birdie. The resulting birdie left him with a three-shot lead heading into the final hole.

Isenhour saved some drama for last by pushing his tee shot into a hazard but managed to advance the ball down the fairway, get on the green and two-putt for bogey from 30 feet.

“You wouldn’t want to have to par 18 to win the tournament,” said the winner. “It was a great day because we dueled it out all day. Fortunately I was able to hit a couple of good shots there at the end.”

Third Round News & Notes: Jason Dufner established a new course record with a 7-under-par 65, bettering the mark of 67 first set by Tripp Isenhour in Thursday’s opening round. Dufner bogeyed the final hole Sunday … Bob May aced the par-3, 11th hole Sunday for the second hole in one in as many days on that hole. May used an 8-iron for 170-yard hole … Sunday’s scoring average was 73.891. The 72-hole cumulative average was 74.881 … Lift, Clean & Place conditions were in effect for the fourth straight round … Sheehan’s second-place check of $64,800 pushed him over the $200,000 mark in earnings.