Dan Thompson is a golfer, thus he's the one who gets the recognition as well as the check every time he wins a tournament.

But just after winning the 105th West Penn Open at Westmoreland Country Club yesterday, Thompson said with a smile that even though he was the one making the shots, the guy who was picking the clubs probably deserves at least some credit for the victory.

Thompson, 26, began the final hole tied at 2 under with former PGA Tour player Bob Friend. He stood about 85 yards from the 18th green trying to decide which wedge he should use to put the ball close enough to give himself a makeable birdie putt.

Thompson and his caddie, Jesse Rager, had different ideas about whether the lob wedge or the sand wedge was the best choice, and he deferred to his caddie. It turned out to be the right move as he put the ball close and knocked down the putt for the birdie and the victory.

"He caddies for me a lot and he knows my game as well as anyone, so I trust him," Thompson said. "We talked about it and he basically made a lot of sense."

Thompson started the round as the leader after shooting a 3-under 68 Monday, but fell behind as he started the final round 3 over after four holes. He made a run of a couple of birdies to finish the front nine and that put him back on top of the leader board.

It settled him down and he was able to finish strong.

"Those birdies late in the front nine really just put me back in a good zone," said Thompson, a Johnstown native who is the assistant pro at Indiana Country Club. "I wasn't sure where I was at in terms of the actual competition when I got to the tee at 18, but I knew I was either tied or one down so I figured I needed the birdie."

Thompson finished the two-day event 3-under 139, one stroke ahead of Friend (68).