By Lauren Deason
Special to PGATOUR.com

Can you recall your most memorable moment in golf?

Most amateurs would respond to that question with a favorite personal anecdote. Perhaps it was playing well on a particularly difficult course. Or maybe it was breaking 100, or 90, or 80 for the first time.

For a PGA TOUR or Champions Tour pro, their favorite memory might be making a birdie on the 18th hole to win an especially close tournament.

Brad Bryant recently accomplished the latter, making five birdies in his last eight holes to win the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif. The victory was Bryant's first on the Champions Tour and propelled him to second on both the Tour money list and the Charles Schwab Cup points list.

"Very seldom have I been in that position…to birdie the last hole in a golf tournament, so it was pretty exciting," Bryant said. "When I made the birdie, I was having a lot of trouble keeping my composure."

Despite the exciting finish and subsequent rewards, though, Bryant did not name this victory as his most memorable golf moment.

So, did his most unforgettable memory come during his 20-year tenure on the PGA TOUR?

Maybe it was when Bryant won the 1995 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic, or one of those runner-up finishes, most notably at the 1982 Tournament Players Championship.

None of those moments topped his list of golf memories, though. Despite all of the highlights of his 30-year career, Bryant's favorite was actually watching his younger brother Bart win the Valero Texas Open in 2004.

"I don't think I'll ever forget what that was like," Bryant said. "All day Sunday I was in front of him, then I got off the golf course and I got to watch him finish. It was tremendous. That was a pretty unbelievable breakthrough for him and for me and our family.

"I think him winning that tournament, to a great extent, was sort of a catalyst for me to begin playing the Champions Tour full-time and play as well as I've played. I think that I've drawn an awful lot of momentum and courage from drafting off of my brother and the success that he has had the past year."

The elder Bryant brother joined the Champions Tour in 2005 upon turning 50. During his five-year sabbatical from full-time golf, he had done volunteer work with the House of Hope, a Christian residential home for troubled teens in Orlando. Bryant also got more involved with his church and was able to spend more time with his family.

"The most important thing in life to me right now is trying to get my (two) sons…through school and well-adjusted," Bryant said.

After choosing to play a full schedule again, Bryant competed through an ankle injury and managed five top-10 finishes as a TOUR rookie. The 2006 season has started out extremely well, too -- in addition to his victory, Bryant shared second at the ACE Group Classic.

Ironically, though, Bryant came to Newport Beach frustrated, on the heels of playing what he called "probably my worst tournament on the Champions Tour" the previous week at the AT&T Classic. He shook off that tie for 41st with a session on the range on Thursday, though.

"We came out on Friday afternoon and it just seemed to get better as the weekend went along," Bryant said. "That practice session on Thursday afternoon where Tony, my caddy, helped me work on my rhythm and my timing…I think that's probably one of the main reasons I played so well come Sunday."

Which is proof that memorable victories, and moments, can happen when you least expect them.