Golf Roundup : U.S. Rallies to Defeat Europe, 5-1

The United States, which had not fared well in international team competition this year, stormed from behind to defeat Europe, 5-1, Saturday in the $750,000 World Championship of Golf at Kapalua, Hawaii.

The Americans received final-round victories from Corey Pavin, Curtis Strange, team captain Raymond Floyd, Calvin Peete and Lanny Wadkins to down the Europeans, who had entered the final without a defeat.

In registering a 2-0-1 record over the round-robin competition at the 6,879-yard Kapalua Bay Course on the island of Maui, Team Europe had played impressively. Two days ago, it posted a 5-1 rout of the American contingent.

After being deadlocked through nine holes in head-to-head competition and aggregate score Saturday, the United States went on a birdie binge to pull out the victory.

Pavin defeated, Sam Torrance, 71-74, and Strange defeated Ian Woosnam, 67-69, to give the U.S. team a 2-0 lead.

Sandy Lyle halted the streak with a 64-69 victory over Mark O’Meara, but Floyd defeated Gordon Brand Jr., 71-72, and Peete and Wadkins clinched the tournament with wins over Howard Clark, 68-72, and Bernhard Langer, 71-73, respectively.

The victory was worth $50,000 to each member of the U.S. team.

His team failed to win the team title, but reigning British Open champion Lyle blistered the course with a closing 64 to win the individual title, worth $50,000, with a 21-under-par 267.

Lyle, who will defend his Kapalua International title next week, posted scores of 68-67-68-64.

Strange finished second at 270, followed by Woosnam and Jet Ozaki of Japan at 271.

In the battle for third place in the team competition, Japan finally registered a win by beating the Australia/New Zealand squad, 4-1-1.

Tu Ai-yu of Taiwan, with a 36-hole score of 138, took a two-stroke lead over Americans Nancy Lopez and Laurie Rinker into today’s final round of the $300,000 Mazda tournament at Hanno, Japan.

Tu, the top golfer on Japan’s women’s golf tour, shot her second 69. She made the turn in 33, then had two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine of the 6,398-yard, par-72 Musashigaoka Golf Course, northwest of Tokyo.

Lopez, the leading money-winner on the Ladies Professional Golf Assn. Tour, also shot a 69 in the second round, with birdies on the second, eighth and 10th holes.