GOLF : Casper Shoots 68 to Win by 3

Billy Casper, who began the day in a four-way tie for the lead, shot a four-under-par 68 Sunday to win the $400,000 Transamerica Senior Championship by three strokes over Al Geiberger at Napa, Calif.

Casper, who was tied with Geiberger, Dave Hill and Charles Coody after three rounds, had four birdies in his bogey-free round that gave him a 54-hole total of 207, nine under par for three rounds on the 6,632-yard Silverado Country Club course.

Casper earned $60,000 with the victory after he bogeyed only three holes in three rounds and three-putted just once.

Geiberger’s final-round left him in second at 210. He won $35,000.

Coody, with a final-round 72, and Larry Ziegler (70) tied for third four strokes back, while Bob Charles (72) was fifth at 212. Hill was never in contention, finishing with a 74 to wind up sixth at 213.

“I had my chances, I just didn’t do anything,” Geiberger said. “So, Billy said, ‘I’m going to do it,’ and bam, bam, bam.”

Geiberger quickly took a two-stroke lead in the final round with birdies on the first two holes. Casper caught him with birdies on the third and sixth holes. Geiberger then lost a stroke with a bogey on the seventh hole, a par three.

Casper, whose previous best finish this year was a tie for second, moved out to a three-stroke lead with birdies on 14 and 15.

“Sometimes that’s the most dangerous way to start out,” said Geiberger, who made birdie putts of 10 and 15 feet on the first two holes, then struggled.

“I think I was trying so hard to make the putts to get out of that logjam,” Geiberger said.

“This was the old Billy coming through here today,” Geiberger said. “But when I look back on this tournament I’ll probably, in the back of my mind, feel like I should’ve won.”