Golf Roundup : Things Go Tway’s Way; He Wins by One

Bob Tway has been knocking on the door in recent weeks, and finally broke it down Sunday.

Tway, 27, made pars on the 16th and 17th holes and then sank a two-foot birdie putt at the 18th to beat Willie Wood by a stroke in the $600,000 Westchester tournament at Harrison, N.Y.

It was Tway’s second victory of the year and pushed him into third place on the PGA money list behind Greg Norman and Andy Bean with $341,618. He has made $505,641 in 18 months on the tour.

“I started playing well at the end of last year and I set a goal this year to win a tournament before the Masters so I could play in Augusta,” Tway said.

“I did that and when you win you get more confidence.”

Tway fired a four-under 67 in the final round despite a heavy rainstorm on the final holes. He finished with 72-hole total of 12-under 272.

Wood, the smallest golfer on the tour at 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds, shot a 66, capped by a birdie on the 18th hole for a total of 273.

Tway had five birdies, a bogey on the eighth hole, and string of seven pars from the 11th to the 17th before sinking the putt on 18 to avert a playoff with Wood and collect $108,000.

Tied for third place at 275 were Scott Simpson and Gil Morgan. Each shot 67 on the closing round.

Raymond Floyd, in one of the biggest collapses since he joined tour in 1963, shot a 77 and finished at 282.

Mike Reid, who was tied for the lead with Tway and Floyd when the round began, shot a 72 to finish at 277. He earned $24,000 and pushed his career earnings to $1,010,219. He is the 63rd golfer to go over the $1 million mark, but the first to do so without winning a PGA tourney.

The former BYU golfer, on the tour since 1976, has finished second three times.

Juli Inkster struggled to a five-over-par 77, but held on for a three-stroke victory in the $450,000 LPGA McDonald’s Championship at Malvern, Pa.

Inkster, who finished with a 72-hole total of seven-under 281, had an eight-stroke lead entering the final round. She won for the second time this year and the sixth time in her career.

Inkster, whose other victory came in the Kemper Open, earned $67,500 to move into second place on the money list behind Pat Bradley with $188,425.

Mary Beth Zimmerman finished second at 284 after a final-round 72, and Amy Alcott birdied the last two holes to shoot 70 for a 285 and third place.

Inkster led from the first day with rounds of 68-67-69.

At Dallas, Don January ended a see-saw round with back-to-back birdies to overtake Chi Chi Rodriguez and win the $200,000 ReUnion Seniors Pro-Am by a stroke.

January, who entered Sunday’s third round with a one-stroke lead, and Rodriguez were tied at 11-under par coming to the 17th hole, but January birdied both the 17th and 18th holes for the $26,250 first prize.