By Michael Checkoway

Mike McCullough sank a five-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat J.C. Snead and capture the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions title at the 3M Championship on Saturday at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn. The 3M Championship is the final Grand Champions event leading into the 2006 Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship.

McCullough, who started Saturday two shots behind J.C. Snead in second place, held a one-shot lead over Snead until a bogey on the 17th hole dropped him into a tie. Moments later, Snead bogeyed the 14th hole to give the lead back to McCullough. With McCullough in the clubhouse with rounds of 70-71 for a total of 3-under-par 141, Snead birdied the 18th hole to force the playoff.

Both players went back to the 18th hole where McCullough ended the playoff quickly by sinking his birdie putt. Snead shot rounds of 68-73 to match McCullough at 3-under-par 141. The second-place finish was Snead’s best showing this season.

The victory was McCullough’s third career Grand Champions title. He won The Boeing Championship at Sandestin earlier this year and the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship last season.

Jim Colbert, who started Saturday tied for seventh, fired a bogey-free 69 to finish in third place at two-under-par 142. Gibby Gilbert and Graham Marsh tied for fourth place at one-under-par 143.

McCullough earned $30,000 for the victory and leads the Grand Champions money list with $86,375 through five events, with only the Championship remaining. McCullough won the Grand Champions money title last year with $119,267.

The Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions competition features players age 60 and older vying for an additional purse and title at six selected Champions Tour events. Scores posted during the first two rounds of the tournament determine the Grand Champions winner.

The 2006 Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions competition concludes with the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship, which will be held at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in suburban Atlanta, from Sept. 8-9. The Grand Champions play for weekly purses of $175,000, with $400,000 up for grabs at the Championship. The top 16 players on the 2006 Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions money list through the 3M Championship, plus two sponsors’ exemptions, will be eligible for the season-ending, 36-hole championship. Mike McCullough won last year’s Championship and its $85,000 first prize.

Information on the Georgia-Pacific golf program is available at www.gp.com/golf.