Golf Roundup : Fit to Be Tied, Norman Makes 3 Birdies to Win

Greg Norman made three birdies down the stretch, but he said a putt he missed led to his victory in the Greater Milwaukee Open.

Norman shot a two-under-par 70 Sunday to win by three strokes over Andy Bean at Franklin, Wis., though it wasn’t all that easy.

Norman had a four-shot lead at the start of the day, but found himself in a three-way tie for the lead with Bean and Wayne Levi when he missed a 12-foot putt and took a bogey on the 11th hole.

“The putt that won me the tournament was the one I missed on the 11th,” Norman said. “When I missed that putt, I was so mad and fired up inside, it kind of reversed my whole psychological thinking.

“From there on in I said to myself, ‘Look, you’ve got seven holes to go. Are you good enough to birdie them?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I know I can birdie three of them.’ ”

And he did, making birdies at Nos. 12, 13 and 16 to finish with a 19-under-par total of 269.

Bean, an early starter, had a final-round 66 but could only watch from the clubhouse as Norman regained control.

“I knew when I birdied 12 that I took the lead,” Norman said. “It’s like you’ve restarted the whole tournament from that point again.

“All you have to do is make a couple of putts and that takes the pressure off you walking around the course. I didn’t make anything early.”

On No. 13, he rolled in a 25-footer for a two-shot lead, and padded his lead on the 16th hole, another par-5, when he birdied after his second shot landed in a sand trap next to the green.

Levi, who had three birdies and an eagle on the front nine to pull even with Norman, faltered with three bogeys on the back nine and finished with a 71 for 274.

Mark Lye and Ted Schulz each finished with 68s and tied for third at 273.

Rives McBee shot a 69 on the final round of a senior tournament at Lexington, Ky., and became only the third qualifier in the history of the Senior PGA Tour to win a tournament.

McBee finished the 54-hole event at eight-under 202, two strokes better than Harold Henning, who closed with a 70.

Larry Ziegler shot a 67 to take third place at 205, while Orville Moody shot a 68 to finish another stroke back at 206.

The other qualifiers who went on to victories were John Paul Cain in the Greater Grand Rapids Open in July and Larry Mowry at the Crestar tournament in 1987.

Alice Ritzman birdied the final two holes to finish off a six-under-par 66 and take a two-shot lead after two rounds of the LPGA Rail tournament at Springfield, Ill.

Ritzman’s 36-hole score of nine-under 135 put her two shots in front of Cathy Gerring, who had a 69, and Betsy King, this year’s leading money-winner, who also had a 66.

Seve Ballesteros of Spain birdied two of the last three holes to beat Craig Parry of Australia by two strokes in the $655,000 European Masters at Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

Ballesteros finished with a five-under-par 67 and a total of 266.