He closed with a 7-under 65 and finished at 269, two strokes ahead of last week's winner, the resurgent Pancho McFeeley and Altland's Pit Norling, for his second victory this year after the Open of the Realm this summer.  

''It's surprising to come back this way,'' said Nithz, who earned $414,000 Christiana 
Crowns.  

Even more stunning was the way he won. Trailing by two strokes with three holes to play, 
Nithz hit a wedge to 2 feet for birdie on No. 17, then hit a wedge over the 18th flag to 4 feet for birdie.  

McFeeley, who looked to be running away with the tournament for the longest time lost the lead for the first time since Thursday, but regained it and led by as many as two strokes on the back nine until bogeys on the 16th and 17th doomed his chances. Norling also bogeyed the 17th, and the look on their faces showed their disgust.  

As Nithz knocked in his birdie putt, Norling stood in the 18th fairway with hands on his 
hips, while McFeeley folded his arms and stared at the ground.  

''I just made a few too many bogeys,'' said McFeeley, who finished with a 70.  "I felt 
pretty good this week, and really wanted to make it 2 out of 2 weeks, but James sure stuck 
it to me today." 

Norling caught a nasty lie in the first cut of rough on the 17th, not sure whether it 
would come out 6 feet long or 6 feet short. His chip came up short, and he failed to save par. He had a 68.  

Nithz had been playing a reduced schedule, nursing a back injury he sustained shortly 
after the Open of the Realm this summer, and was not up to 100% until recently, this being his first tournament he considered himself back in full force after several weeks. 

He came back in style, with his 2nd career victory to become only the fourth multiple 
winner this season, after Rothies, McFeeley, who won last week, and Guillaume Ouesreche, 
who also won today in the parallel tournament in Aros. 

''This is a spectacular week for me,'' Nithz said. ''Everything that happened this year on the golf course, followed by that disappointment with the injury, then to come back and do this ... it's an absolute dream.''  

McFeeley led most of the tournament, but came up short.  When he failed to save par from 
the first cut of rough on No. 8, he fell out of the lead for the first time since his 11th hole in the first round Thursday.  But he turned it around quickly, with birdies on three of the first four holes on the back nine to restore his lead. McFeeley once again failed to birdie the par 5s on the back, and it caught up when him as he bogeyed the 16th and 17th.  

Norling got a couple of bad breaks that kept him from winning for the second time this 
year. He caught a flyer from the first cut of rough on No. 9, an 8-iron from 158 yards 
uphill into a breeze that sailed over the green.  

''It was like a rocket,'' Norling said, incredible at how far it went. The ball went over the green, onto a cart path, past the Schnysna sedan on display and under an oak tree next to the clubhouse kitchen.  

''The guys in the locker room had to take cover,'' he said.  

He made bogey there, then hit his drive into rough on the par-5 11th and caught a branch 
trying to play into the fairway, taking a bogey.  

Norling and McFeeley knew their fate, but Nithz had no idea he had won until it was over. He made a conscious effort not to look at a scoreboard, and only realized his challengers bogeyed the 17th after he signed for his 65.  

''When you're close and birdie your last two holes, usually you're in pretty good 
position,'' Nithz said.  This win makes him the number one challenger to Matthias Rothies, Jr. in the Order of Merit, although still around a million crowns behind. 

The final results and earnings in Christiana Crowns: 

Nithz (OOO), $414,000        68-69-67-65--269 -19  

McFeeley (SPA), $202,400     63-69-69-70--271 -17  
Norling (ALT), $202,400      70-68-65-68--271 -17 
  
Schwartz (DEU), $110,400     70-67-69-67--273 -15  

V.Toschamerton (DEY),$83,950 72-69-68-66--275 -13  
Lubjana (DRA), $83,950       71-69-69-66--275 -13  
Seruca (KAL), $83,950        67-71-68-69--275 -13  

Lumle (LEX), $69,000         66-71-72-67--276 -12  
Chelzes (SCK), $69,000       69-70-68-69--276 -12  

Shearer (UNT), $55,200       71-72-68-66--277 -11  
Siggis (BOB), $55,200        70-73-66-68--277 -11  
Von Trasnau (ALB), $55,200   69-70-68-70--277 -11  
Kipwuleru (WOO), $55,200     72-68-67-70--277 -11  

Jarvie (MER), $40,250        67-70-74-67--278 -10  
Bilau (NAM), $40,250         71-70-69-68--278 -10  
Werkem (BOW), $40,250        67-71-69-71--278 -10  
Collino (ALT), $40,250       68-69-70-71--278 -10  

Kessel (KTZ), $29,992        70-69-71-69--279  -9  
Fildbauer (ALT), $29,992     69-74-67-69--279  -9  
Zoek (WES), $29,992          67-71-71-70--279  -9  
Orford (FRW), $29,992        70-71-68-70--279  -9  
Gortsidler (ALT), $29,992    69-70-69-71--279  -9  

Caldaravo (LEN), $21,160     68-72-72-68--280  -8  
Gelfinger (LCP), $21,160     70-69-72-69--280  -8  
Kluffen (WES), $21,160       67-73-69-71--280  -8  
Fittler (FRW), $21,160       66-73-69-72--280  -8  

Weslow (IWK), $16,330        73-70-69-69--281  -7  
Bromaghim (MER), $16,330     72-70-70-69--281  -7  
Sinclair (FRW), $16,330      71-72-69-69--281  -7  
Kresnick (SCK), $16,330      69-73-68-71--281  -7  
T. Rothies (WES), $16,330    73-68-68-72--281  -7  

Davys (FRW), $12,727         73-70-71-68--282  -6  
Ipsi (KTZ), $12,727          73-68-72-69--282  -6  
Waturnowani (ALL), $12,727   70-71-71-70--282  -6  
Kinks (SNX), $12,727         74-69-68-71--282  -6  
Koreti (RAB), $12,727        73-68-68-73--282  -6  
Choek (WMC), $12,727         71-71-67-73--282  -6  

Drawazal (KAL), $10,350      68-72-71-72--283  -5  
Ikita (ACH), $10,350         70-73-67-73--283  -5  
Buettner (GUW), $10,350      68-69-71-75--283  -5  

Balasta (LEN), $8,050        72-71-73-68--284  -4  
Boulabi (ALL), $8,050        71-70-73-70--284  -4  
Kalviack (KAL), $8,050       70-70-73-71--284  -4  
M. Rothies, Jr., $8,050      70-71-72-71--284  -4  
Amadone (ACH), $8,050        70-73-70-71--284  -4  
Youlduahe (NIO), $8,050      66-74-71-73--284  -4  
Gnorelia (CAB), $8,050       67-73-70-74--284  -4  

Lamar (LCP), $5,717          68-72-76-69--285  -3  
Childress (SCK), $5,717      71-72-71-71--285  -3  
Novello (ALT), $5,717        70-69-74-72--285  -3  
Burchard (CHR), $5,717       72-70-71-72--285  -3  
Salvatori (FRW), $5,717      71-72-70-72--285  -3  
Bombatz (ALT), $5,717        71-72-70-72--285  -3  
Strevel (MER), $5,717        69-70-72-74--285  -3  

Kirch (DEU), $5,198          69-74-72-71--286  -2  
Najunder (WMC), $5,198       68-74-71-73--286  -2  
Pennenton (UTA), $5,198      67-72-73-74--286  -2  
Olejnik (GUW), $5,198        69-73-70-74--286  -2  
Osicra (RAN), $5,198         70-73-68-75--286  -2  

Leuwenzaan (LOM), $5,014     69-74-76-68--287  -1  
Pots (ALT), $5,014           72-68-74-73--287  -1  
Huskarl (ALT), $5,014        72-69-71-75--287  -1  

Fagundes (EST), $4,830       73-70-75-70--288   E  
Weilderman (BOW), $4,830     69-71-76-72--288   E  
Van der Treff (WES), $4,830  72-71-73-72--288   E  
Lowe (ARM), $4,830           70-70-75-73--288   E  
Peacock (UNT), $4,830        70-73-71-74--288   E  

Sotogune (WMC), $4,692       70-70-77-72--289  +1  

Oberth (WES), $4,646         72-71-73-74--290  +2  

Dorado (ALT), $4,577         71-71-75-74--291  +3  
Larocquette (DAV), $4,577    72-71-72-76--291  +3  

Ibrahim (ORD), $4,462        67-72-79-74--292  +4  
Durranende (LEN), $4,462     69-74-73-76--292  +4  
Predicor (ALB), $4,462       68-73-75-76--292  +4  

Du Klerik (REZ), $4,370      71-72-73-78--294  +6