On the biggest day of his professional golf career, Mark Wilson harkened back to his college days and pulled on a shirt tinged with Carolina blue.

It helped him win a lot of green.

Wilson, who was born in Menomonee Falls and grew up in Pewaukee, sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to defeat Jose Coceres and win the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

It was the first PGA Tour victory in more than 100 tries for Wilson, 32, who played in college at the University of North Carolina.

When tournament officials handed the winner an oversized check for $990,000, Wilson's family and friends like John Cary smiled, cried and marveled at how karma worked its magic.

Cary, the executive director of the MACC (Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer), watched the telecast Monday morning with his infant grandson and instantly flashed back to October and the day that the MACC Fund celebrated its 30th anniversary with a dinner at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee.

Cary was tending to last-minute details when Wilson called to make his annual donation.
As a child, Wilson attended Bucks games with his father. Every time a Bucks player would hit a three-pointer, the public address announcer would say "That's $50 for the MACC Fund." Wilson hoped that he would be able to donate to the charity some day and he got his chance in 2004.

As a PGA Tour rookie, Wilson began donating a flat fee for each tournament in which he made the cut, along with escalators for finishes in the top 10, 20 and 30. After his first season, Wilson donated $5,000 and the ""Making a Mark Fore MACC" tradition was born.

In 2005, he upped that to $12,000 -- the largest single donation by an athlete in the history of the charity -- and it was again matched by one of his sponsors, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Although Wilson struggled at times during the 2006 season and had to head back to qualifying school in order to keep his Tour playing privileges for '07, he was prepared to donate $9,800 based on the formula.

At the last moment, he changed his mind.

"Mark called me the morning of the dinner and said he had good news," Cary said. "Because I am a father of six, I immediately asked if he and (wife) Amy were expecting a baby. He told me they weren't, but that they had decided on a donation. In honor of our 30th year, they had decided to give us $30,000."

Wilson initially told Cary that he did not want his gift publicized. When Cary told him that his generosity might spur others to donate, Wilson relented. The gift was announced at the dinner and Wilson received a rousing ovation in absentia.

"It's just an amazing story," Cary said. "Here was a guy fighting for his professional life. He knew he had to go back to qualifying school and he still decided to make that donation. It just shows the type of person that Mark is."

The rest of the golf world got a glimpse of Wilson's character during the Honda Classic. On Friday, Wilson's caddy, Chris Jones, overheard Camilo Villegas talking to his caddy about which club would be appropriate for the fifth tee.

"It's an 18-degree," Jones said, referring to a "rescue" club that Wilson and many other Tour players carry in their bag.

Offering advice to competitors is prohibited by PGA Tour rules, but Jones' suggestion was not heard by officials and would have gone unnoticed had Wilson not blown the whistle on himself and accepted a two-stroke penalty.

"He didn't have to do it," Cary said. "Nobody would have known. That just tells you the character of this kid."

Wilson responded to the setback by playing inspired golf and his honesty and perseverance were rewarded as he forced a playoff and eventually won the title.

"It's just an amazing story," Cary said.