Stanford’s Walsworth Edges Randolph for Pac-10 Golf Title

Don Walsworth of Stanford shot a final-round 71 Wednesday to overhaul favored Sam Randolph of USC, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, and win the individual title in the Pacific 10 golf tournament at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley.

The Trojans, however, ran away with the team championship, finishing 12 strokes ahead of runner-up Oregon.

Randolph held a three-stroke lead after each of the first three rounds but struggled to a 75, three over par, in the final round.

He needed an eagle to tie Walsworth on the par-5 18th hole, but his 10-foot putt spun around the lip of the cup and stopped on the edge. After tapping in for a birdie, Randolph threw the ball into a lake bordering the green.

“That putt defied gravity,” said Randolph, who has never won the Pac-10 title outright, although he tied for it as a freshman. “It was inside the hole, rolled around the rim and still wouldn’t drop. But that isn’t why I lost. I lost because I played poorly.”

The host Trojans wrapped up the team title by getting a double-eagle, an eagle and two birdies on the final hole. Brian Henninger’s 6-iron shot from 200 yards out landed about 10 feet from the hole and rolled in for a double-eagle 2. Ed Harper had the eagle 3.

Walsworth, a senior from Marceline, Mo., had three previous rounds of 75 and finished at 296, eight over par on the tough, 7,020-yard Wood Ranch Golf Club. Randolph shot a 72-75-75-75--297.