Golf Roundup : Calcavecchia’s Victory Leads U.S. in Dunhill

Mark Calcavecchia won the only match that mattered Sunday, lifting the United States to a 3 1/2-2 1/2 victory over Japan in the final round of the Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews, Scotland.

Calcavecchia, in the first pairing of the afternoon matches, built a four-stroke lead after three holes and went on to a seven-shot triumph, his second victory of the day against overmatched Hajime Meshiai.

That gave the United States an insurmountable 3 1/2- 1/2 lead and secured the Americans’ first title in the five-year history of this medal-match play event.

Calcavecchia, the British Open champion, had 12 birdies and an eagle in his 36 holes over the Old Course and played those two rounds in 133, 11 under par.

He beat Meshiai, 67-68, in the morning matches, then scored six birdies on the front nine in the afternoon and matched the best round of the tournament in a 66-73 rout.

Calcavecchia’s winning match was set up by Tom Kite’s rally for a critical half-point in the morning half of the 36-hole final.

Kite was two shots back with three holes to play against Naomichi Ozaki before he rallied.

Kite hit a wedge to four feet for a birdie on the 16th to pull within one and flipped a sand wedge shot to four feet for the birdie that tied it on the 18th. Kite and Ozaki each had a four-under-par 68.

Beth Daniel capitalized on Pat Bradley’s three-putt bogey on the 17th hole for a one-stroke victory in a $350,000 tournament at San Jose.

Daniel’s victory, the fourth in her last six tournaments, earned her $48,750 and pushed her over the $2-million mark for her career. After going winless for more than four years, Daniel has earned more than $500,000 in 1989.

Daniel, who began the day with a three-stroke lead over Bradley, shot a 73 and finished the 54-hole tournament at 205, tying the course record set by Jan Stephenson in 1987. Bradley shot a 71 to finish at 206. For the third consecutive day, they played in the same threesome.

On the 17th hole, Daniel drove nearly out of bounds and left her approach shot 40 yards short. But while Daniel went up-and-down to save par, Bradley three-putted from 45 feet, missing an eight-footer for par.

“In that situation, I hate to see anybody lose,” Daniel said after her wire-to-wire victory.

Bob Charles of New Zealand shot a five-under-par 67 to win the Space Coast Senior PGA tournament at Melbourne, Fla.

Charles had the final day’s best round at the Suntree Country Club to win his fifth senior event of the season and $45,000.

His 54-hole total of 13-under 203 was six shots ahead of runner-up Butch Baird.

Bill Britton earned $135,000 for his first PGA tournament victory without having to lift a club as the final round of the $750,000 Centel tournament at Tallahassee, Fla. was rained out.

Britton took a four-stroke lead with a nine-under-par 63 Saturday and finished 54 holes with a 200.