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Kevin Kisner defeated Matt Kuchar in the final to win the WGC-Match Play in Texas, a year after he was runner-up.
Kevin Kisner started his professional golf career on the American mini tours with a loan from his father.
On Sunday, the veteran American won the elite World Golf Championships-Match Play in Texas to take his US PGA Tour career earnings to $18.7 million ($A26.3m).
Kisner defeated countryman Matt Kuchar 3 and 2 in the final at Austin Country Club for a $1.74m ($A2.5) pay cheque - the biggest of his career.
But with a brigade of powerful youngsters who "hit it 350 (yards) and make putts", Kisner says he is not about to splurge the earnings from his third PGA Tour victory.
"I'm the cheapest guy in the world," joked Kisner, who was smashed 7 and 6 by Bubba Watson in last year's final.
"I'll hoard that money like crazy.
"Because I don't know when it's going to run out and I don't know how long I'm going to be able to make 10-foot (putts)."
Aside from being all square to Kuchar for just one hole on Sunday, Kisner led the final from start to finish in what was the seventh match he played at the round-robin tournament.
The 35-year-old Kisner said winning a WGC event with 64 of the top 66 players on the world rankings was particularly satisfying for how hard he has fought through varying levels of ultra-competitive American golf tours.
After progressing from mini tours to the second-tier, Kisner cracked the PGA Tour in 2011 but was often relegated a level when he failed to retain his card several times.
Kisner is now in the top 85 on the PGA Tour's career money list and it all started with a $16,000 ($A22,500) investment from his old man.
"And I never asked him for another dollar," Kisner said proudly.
"The coolest part of my career is I had to make putts when it mattered.
"When you've got to make a putt to clear money for the week just to fill your car up for the drive back home, it makes you a stronger person.
"Money has driven me my whole life."
Kisner lives in Aiken, South Carolina - just 30 minutes from Augusta, Georgia - and will be a somewhat crowd favourite at the Masters starting April 11.
Also lining his pockets from the rich WGC in Texas was Kuchar, who bagged $1.095m ($A1.5m) for second place - which is comparative to a winner's prize at most PGA Tour events.
In the third-place consolation match, Italy's Francesco Molinari secured a $712,000 ($A1m) payday when he downed Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard, 4 and 2.
Bjerregard, who secured $574,000 ($A807,000) for fourth place, had knocked Tiger Woods out in the quarter-finals.
Marc Leishman was the last Australian standing having bowed out in the round of 16, while countrymen Jason Day and Cameron Smith failed to advance from the group stage.