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GOLF ROUNDUP : Gamez’s 7-Iron Shot From 176 Yards Drops for Eagle--and a Win

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From Associated Press

Rookie Robert Gamez capped a final-round 66 with an 18th-hole eagle Sunday to pass Greg Norman and Larry Mize and win the $900,000 Bay Hill Invitational at Orlando, Fla.

Gamez, who won the Tucson Open in January, passed both Norman and Mize--playing behind him--when he hit a spectacular shot that gave him a one-stroke lead and the victory.

His 176-yard, seven-iron second shot on what is considered one of the toughest closing holes on the PGA Tour sailed right at the flag and went into the cup.

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“I knew I had to make at least birdie to get in a playoff,” Gamez, 21, said. “As it was in the air, I thought, ‘This one is going to be close.’ ”

Norman barely missed a birdie on the 17th hole, then rolled another birdie opportunity past the cup on the 18th.

Gamez’s 72-hole total of 274 was 14 under par on the 7,114-yard Bay Hill course. Norman shot a final-round 68 for a 275 total. Mize also shot a 68 and finished at 276.

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Gamez earned $162,000, giving him $354,905 in official winnings in his first 10 weeks on the tour. He was the first player to win his first start as a member of the PGA Tour since Ben Crenshaw won the Texas Open in 1973.

Pat Bradley became the first LPGA player to reach $3 million in career earnings with a one-stroke victory in a $500,000 tournament at Phoenix.

Bradley, with career earnings of $3,059,768, made a two-foot par putt on the final hole to beat Ayako Okamoto, birdied the 10th, 13th, 14th and 17th holes to tie Bradley at 12 under.

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But on the 18th green, Okamoto three-putted from 40 feet, just missing a four-foot par putt that would have forced a sudden-death playoff. Okamoto finished with a 71 for a 281 total, 11 under par.

Bradley then tapped in her putt for a 71 to earn a $75,000 check and her second victory in the tournament. She also won in 1987.

Bob Charles of New Zealand shot a three-under-par 69 to win a $400,000 senior tournament at Kurimotoachi, Japan, for the third year in a row. Taiwan’s Hsu Chi-san finished second, two strokes back.

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