San Diego Sports et Cetera : Strange Tops O’Grady Following Late Swim

In the finale of a competition that could best be described as loose, a bare-foot Curtis Strange made an 8-foot putt for a birdie to defeat Mac O’Grady and win the 9-hole Shearson Lehman Hutton shootout Tuesday at Torrey Pines Golf Course.

The putt closed out O’Grady, who could have managed no better than a par 5 on the South Course’s 499-yard, 18th hole.

Strange and O’Grady were the last of 10 players in the competition that eliminated the highest-scoring player after each hole.

O’Grady, a natural right-hander, played the competition left-handed. And as he went to hit a shot from near the water on the 18th, Strange ran over and playfully acted as if he were going to push O’Grady in. It turned out to be more than an act, as both players ended up getting wet.

Craig Stadler, of Rancho Santa Fe, was eliminated on the next-to-last hole. Scott Simpson, the U.S. Open champion from San Diego, was the first player eliminated.

The shootout was one of two preliminary events held Tuesday in association with the four-day Shearson Lehman Hutton Andy Williams Open that begins Thursday. In the other, Bill Glasson won the MCI Pro Celebrity Long Distance Competition with a drive of 282 yards.

Entertainer Bob Hope and former president Gerald Ford lead the list of golfers in today’s Celebrity Pro-Am. The event tees off at 6:42 a.m. on both the North and South courses at Torrey Pines.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Seven players scored in double figures as Point Loma Nazarene (10-16, 4-7) defeated Christ College Irvine (7-13, 0-11), 117-58, in a Golden State Athletic Conference game. Freshman guard Mark Bulgin scored a career-high 19 points for host Point Loma Nazarene.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Nancy Caparez scored 16 points and Chris McCallum added 14 to lead UC San Diego to an 86-49 victory over Southern California College. UCSD is 9-13, SCC 10-14.

Shannon Anderson and Suzi Jones each had 16 points as host Point Loma Nazarene College (18-9, 5-4) defeated Christ College Irvine, 87-40, in a Golden State Athletic Conference game.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Dave Hajek hit a two-run single in the fifth inning as Cal Poly Pomona (5-3) defeated San Diego State (3-4), 6-3, in a nonconference game at SDSU’s Smith Field. Wayne Koklys (3-1) was the winner, and Dave Riddle (0-1) took the loss.

Ron Ortegon homered to right to lift Grand Canyon College (4-5) to a 3-2 victory over Point Loma Nazarene (0-7) in a 10-inning nonconference game at Point Loma. Todd Baron (1-) went the distance for the victory. Larry Johnson (0-3) pitched the final two innings for the loss. Tony Nobiensky was 3 for 4 with an RBI for Point Loma.

COLLEGE GOLF

Allison Shapcott (145) of USIU has a two-stroke lead after 36 holes of the Chris Johnson-Arizona Invitational at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. Susan Shapcott, Allison’s sister, is tied for third with a 148. San Diego State’s JoAnn Walker (149) is tied for eighth, and Karen Engberg (151) is tied for 19th.

The University of Texas leads at 594, USIU is second at 601 and SDSU is tied for third with 603.

COLLEGE TENNIS

Traci Reynolds was a winner at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles (with Melinda Ainslee) as Point Loma Nazarene (2-3) defeated Cal State San Bernardino, 8-1, in a nonconference match at San Bernardino.

Wanda Yocom, a freshman from Monte Vista High School, captured the No. 1 match to help Grossmont College open its season with a 7-2 victory at Golden West College. Yocom beat Melinda Robertson, 6-3, 7-6. Grossmont was ranked No. 2 in the state’s preseason poll, behind Orange Coast.