Golf Roundup : Turner Wins LPGA With Closing Birdies

Amy Alcott told Sherri Turner her first professional title would come when she least expected it. Alcott just wishes Turner had waited a while longer.

Turner birdied the last two holes Sunday for a 5-under-par 67 to win the $350,000 Ladies Professional Golf Assn. Championship by one stroke over Alcott at Mason, Ohio.

“I knew I had to birdie the last two holes,” Turner said. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t expect to, but I managed to do it.”

Turner, who began the day tied for sixth place, finished at 7-under 281 and collected $52,500.

Turner, 31, of Stafford, Tex., made a 6-foot putt that rimmed the cup on No. 17 and followed with another 6-footer on the 18th. She also birdied Nos. 2, 4 and 10 and suffered her only bogey on No. 5.

“I hit my absolutely best drive of the day,” she said of her tee shot on No. 18. “I was amazed I could do it after the birdie on 17. My third shot was 133 yards to the hole and I hit a little 9-iron. It was one of, if not my best shot all day.

“It was not until I was walking onto the (18th) green that I realized how much pressure I was really feeling. When I was standing over that putt, I felt like closing my eyes and hitting it because I was really nervous. I wasn’t surprised that it went in, but I guess if I had missed it I wouldn’t have been real surprised because I was so nervous.”

Alcott, seeking to complete a career Grand Slam and win her second major championship of the year after winning the Dinah Shore last month, had her chances to force a playoff.

Her birdie putt of 25 feet on No. 17 curled to the right. On No. 18, her uphill birdie putt of 20 feet missed to the left by 3 inches. Alcott shot a 74 for a 282.

“I didn’t play that bad, but I didn’t play my best golf,” Alcott said. “I didn’t feel real comfortable on the tee. I felt my rhythm was a little off.

“It was only a matter of time before (Turner) won. I’ve been telling her for a long time that she’ll win and it will come when she least expects it. She has one of the best swings on the tour.”

Two shots back at 284 in a tie for third place were Kathy Postlewait (72), Sally Little (72), Marta Figueras-Dotti (69), Amy Benz (74) and Ayako Okamoto (73).

Lanny Wadkins, whose record at the Colonial National Invitation was so poor he skipped the event the past two years, made a 3-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to win the $750,000 tournament by one shot at Fort Worth, Tex.

Wadkins, who lives an hour’s drive from the course, played 35 competitive rounds at the Colonial Country Club before this week and never broke par.

“I hit a real poor putt (on 18),” Wadkins confessed. “It was ugly, but it slipped in the side of the hole.”

He finished the week with his third sub-par round, a 5-under 65, including 31 on the front nine, that gave him a 72-hole total of 10-under 270--a stroke in front of Mark Calcavecchia, Ben Crenshaw and Joey Sindelar.

It was the 18th victory of Wadkins’ 18-year career and the second this year. His $135,000 first-place check boosted his earning’s for the year to $447,456.

He also raised his career total to $3,538,456 and into fourth place on the all-time list. Only Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tom Kite have earned more on the American circuit.

Sindelar, Calcavecchia and Crenshaw wound up at 9-under 271 and each won $56,000. Sindelar shot a 68, Calcavecchia a 66 and Crenshaw a 67 that included birdies at the last four holes.

Wadkins had to sweat out long birdie putts by Calcavecchia and Sindelar on the final hole before his victory was safe.

Bob Charles shot a 4-under-par 66 and finished with a tournament-record 196 for 54 holes to win the $300,000 Commemorative Seniors tournament by four strokes at Scarborough, N.Y.

The 52-year-old New Zealander, in winning his first title on the Senior PGA Tour this year, erased the record of 199 set by Lee Elder in 1986. Charles set another course record with a 63 on Friday.

Charles earned $45,000 and boosted his earnings to $124,455 for 10 tournaments this year.

Don Massengale shot a 67 and finished in a tie for second place with Harold Henning, who closed with a 66.