Golf Roundup : Nicklaus’ Putting Puts Him on Top in Skins

Jack Nicklaus putted superbly Sunday against younger rivals Curtis Strange, Greg Norman and Isao Aoki and earned $254,250 in the inaugural Australian Super Skins golf tournament at Port Douglas, Australia.

Nicklaus, 49, birdied three of the first nine holes Sunday to win $126,000 and received an additional $33,250 when the final five holes and two playoff holes all were halved.

Strange, the U.S. Open champion, won $173,250 to finish second. Norman, of Australia, won $132,750 with a strong finish, and Aoki, of Japan, collected $47,250.

Nicklaus and Strange each won $94,500 Saturday, the opening day of the 36-hole event over the par-72 Mirage Country Club course.

The total purse was $607,500, plus hole-in-one bonuses worth $1.4 million.

Under the skins format, prize money for each hole increases unless the hole is won outright.

Nicklaus began Sunday superbly, earning $18,000 for a birdie at the par-four first hole, where he sank a three-foot putt, and $18,000 for a birdie at the par-four No. 4, where all three of his rivals squandered birdie opportunities.

Nicklaus then thrilled the gallery by making a 12-foot putt on No. 9 for his second straight birdie at the hole and $90,000.

Larry Mowry made a five-foot par-saving putt on the 18th hole to edge Al Geiberger and Miller Barber by one stroke and win the 50th PGA Seniors Championship at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Mowry, who posted a final-round 73, overcame a poor start and played the back nine at PGA National in one under par. He earned $72,000 for his fourth victory since joining the Senior tour in 1986.

Mowry finished with a 72-hole total of seven-under-par 281 on the 6,530-yard Champion course. Geiberger and Barber, who shot 71s Sunday, were tied at 282.

Gene Sauers chipped in for birdie on the final hole to win the weather-shortened Hawaiian Open golf tournament at Honolulu.

Sauers took the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole, then finished off a final-round 65 by chipping in from just off the back fringe of the green for the second victory in his six-year PGA career.

He finished the rain-abbreviated 54-hole event in 19-under-par 197, the best three-round score on the tour this season. The tournament was shortened because of heavy rains that disrupted play Friday and Saturday.