Golf Roundup : Mudd Edges Jacobsen and Price for First Win

Jodie Mudd, winless in seven years as a professional golfer, sank a pair of long birdie putts on the back nine Sunday on the way to a one-shot victory over Peter Jacobsen and Nick Price in the $953,842 St. Jude tournament at Memphis, Tenn.

Mudd, who finished at 15-under-par 273, made birdie putts of more than 25 feet at the 417-yard 10th and the 376-yard 11th, both par-4s, to hold off challenges by Allan Rummells and Jacobsen and a late charge by Price.

With Jacobsen and Price in the clubhouse at 274, Mudd carried a two-stroke lead to the 17th tee.

The 1980 and 1981 Public Links champion ran into trouble on No. 17 when he put his second shot into a sand trap to the left of the green. He pitched onto the fringe and then two-putted for only his second bogey of the tournament.

Mudd played the par-five 18th hole cautiously, laying up short on his second shot and then pitching to the open area of the green about 35 feet away from the pin.

His first putt rolled about 3 feet past the hole, from where he firmly sank the par putt to complete a final-round 70. He earned a check of $171,692.

Martha Nause ended 10 years of tour frustration by scoring 14 points under a new format and holding on for a one-point victory over Judy Dickinson and Debbie Massey in a $400,000 LPGA tournament at High Point, N.C.

Nause had a second place in 1981 as her best finish on the LPGA tour. The first-place money of $62,500 nearly equaled the $69,412 she won on the tour last year.

Nause, 33, birdied two of the first three holes on the back nine and added another birdie at 15 to take control. But her two-putt from 3 feet gave her a bogey to make the race close to the end.

Judy Dickinson, in the same threesome with Nause, hit her approach to the green at 18 to within 6 feet and birdied to close at 13 points. Bogeys at the second and 11th holes proved costly, although she birdied three of the last four holes. Ayako Okamoto birdied the par-4 10th hole and the par-5 16th. But she missed her last chance to catch Nause by being short on a 20-foot putt at the 18th green.

With Okamoto and Dickinson finished and out of contention, only Dot Germain and Debbie Massey could catch Nause. Massey birdied 13, 16 and 17, and her 8-iron shot to the No. 18 green was within 12 feet of the cup. But her putt to win slid above the hole.

The tournament was the first on the LPGA tour to be played under a modified Stableford scoring system. In the system, a birdie is worth three points, an eagle is worth five and a double eagle worth eight. Par scores no points, a bogey loses one point and a double bogey costs a golfer three points.

Third-round co-leaders Bob Charles and defending champion Gary Player remained tied following the fourth round, setting up an 18-hole playoff today for the U.S. Senior Open championship at Medinah, Ill. They both shot a 1-over-par 73 to total an even-par 288.

England’s Peter Baker defeated Nick Faldo in a sudden death playoff to win a $450,000 international tournament at Fulford, England.

Baker, 20, shot a pair of eagles to beat Faldo, the former British Open champion, after trailing by three shots with four holes to play.

Baker was one shot behind on the 18th tee, but he eagled the hole from 15 feet after a big drive. That tied him with Faldo at 69, giving both golfers 17-under-par totals of 271.

After they had shared the first extra hole, Baker came up with another eagle on 18, this time sinking a 20-footer to win the $73,800 first prize.