LA QUINTA, Calif. — Adam Long bounced around golf’s backwoods for years, winning only a lone Hooters Tour event. Now he is headed to the Masters as a PGA Tour winner.

Long won the Desert Classic on Sunday at PGA West, beating Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin by a stroke with a 14-foot birdie putt on the final hole after a 6-iron approach from an awkward stance.

“In some ways, it’s been a little bit of a roller coaster, but it’s been a steady improvement throughout my career,” Long said. “I’ve played in pretty much most tours around the world that there are and just kind of steadily progressed.

“It kind of can seem like it came out of nowhere, but my game’s been trending in the right direction for really the last two years now.”