As honeymoons go, this one might be tough to top.

A day after tying the knot, Akinori Tani pulled off a heart-stopping comeback to win the Hawaii Pearl Open yesterday and punctuate an already momentous weekend.

Trailing Nick Mason by one stroke going into the 17th hole, Tani's improbable eagle propelled him to the title and the $12,000 winner's check—which he promptly handed to his bride at the awards ceremony.

So which scenario over the 24-hour span jangled his nerves more, standing at the altar or over a putt to win the state's richest locally run event?

“;Naturally, the wedding,”; Tani said through an interpreter after closing the 32nd annual tournament with a 54-hole total of 12-under-par 204.

The 35-year-old Japan pro began the day two shots out of the lead and lingered behind Mason for much of the final round at Pearl Country Club, trailing by two shots with three holes to play.

Mason's bogey on No. 16 tightened the gap to one stroke and Tani leapfrogged into the lead with his eagle on No. 17. A par on No. 18 capped his second round of 5-under 67 in the tournament and proved just enough to hold off Mason.

Tani said he didn't decide on the wedding date until the pairings for the first two rounds were posted late last week.

Juggling the tournament with wedding preparations didn't seem to distract Tani, who opened with a 67 on Friday. He carded a 70 on Saturday to fall into sixth place, then headed to Calvary by the Sea church for the ceremony.

All of those wishes for good fortune might have paid off on the par-5 17th yesterday after he pulled his drive into the trees lining the right side of the fairway, about 200 yards from the green.

He decided to lay up to give himself a chance at birdie, pulling a 9-iron from his bag. He caught a flier out of the rough that cleared the trees, rode the breeze toward the green and took a favorable hop before rolling to about 7 feet from the cup.

“;It was almost like a miracle,”; Tani said.

As Tani surveyed his putt, he relied on the expertise of his 14-year-old caddie, Eimi Koga, who advised him to play more break than he initially planned.

Tani had been referred to the Moanalua freshman by a friend of Koga's father (also the wedding photographer) and her familiarity with the greens—which helped her win three Pearl Junior Opens—proved critical.

“;I've played here a lot ... so I was pretty confident,”; said Koga, though she admitted being quite nervous as Tani lined up the putt based on her read.

Tani rolled in the putt to put the pressure on Mason, who missed his 7-foot birdie putt to drop into second in a stunning swing.

Mason, a former Leilehua and Hawaii-Hilo golfer, couldn't catch Tani on No. 18 and his best finish in four Pearl Open appearances still left him with a case of Valentine's Day heartache.

Mason, one shot out of the lead after the second round, charged ahead by dropping four birdies in a stretch from holes 5 to 11. The last gave him a three-stroke cushion over Tani, Hyung Sung Kim and Dong Sub Maeng.

Another birdie on No. 15 appeared to give him control. But he followed with a bogey on the par-3 16th and couldn't answer Tani at 17.

“;I knew anything could happen on 17,”; Mason said. “;Seventeen was a turning point for me every day, one hole just killed me. I'm very proud of how I played, but I played one hole very poorly and you can't do that and win a golf tournament. When you leave a door open, someone's going to take it, that's why I didn't finish.”;

While Tani won his third tournament as a pro, 16-year-old Ryutaro Kato took low amateur honors at 4-under 212.