Daniel’s Birdies Get Her a Win : Golf: Sheehan leads by two shots with two holes left, but falters again and loses in playoff.

Patty Sheehan’s resolve was strong enough to overcome her collapse in last week’s U.S. Women’s Open, but not enough to beat Beth Daniel.

Daniel’s 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff Monday beat Sheehan in the rain-delayed $400,000 LPGA Phar-Mor Youngstown golf tournament.

Sheehan blew a six-stroke lead on the final 36 holes last week, losing by one shot to Betsy King.

Sheehan has finished second in her last three tournaments. She has been in the top two in six consecutive events, winning two.

“Coming back after last week, it was really tough to even tee it up,” she said. “In that respect, I played very well. I played well all week after last week’s disappointment.”

Sheehan shot three-under-par 69 and Daniel had a 73 in the final round, putting them at nine-under 207 for 54 holes.

Danielle Ammaccapane shot 72 and finished third at 208. Debbie Massey, with a third-round 73, and Ayako Okamoto, with a 71, tied for fourth at 209.

Sheehan was in fourth place, four strokes behind Daniel, going into Sunday’s rainy final round. She made up two of the strokes on the first five holes before play was suspended, and got birdies on Nos. 6 and 11 Monday to move ahead.

She held a two-stroke advantage after 16 holes. But Daniel birdied the 16th and Sheehan bogeyed No. 17, creating a tie.

“I lost three playoffs in a row,” Daniel said, “so I figured I was due one. When I made the bird on No. 16, I was back in it. And when I teed off on No. 17, I heard someone say Patty Sheehan bogeyed 17.”

Sheehan’s tee shot in the playoff on 16 hit the fairway and Daniel’s was in the rough, but her second shot landed nine feet from the pin.

Sheehan’s approach was 18 feet short of the hole, and her birdie attempt rolled four feet past before Daniel sank the winning putt.

Sheehan, devastated by the Open loss, took this one in stride.

“I’m pretty disappointed about what happened on No. 17,” she said. “But second is better than third.”

Daniel made $60,000 for her seventh victory since last August, lifting her 1990 earnings to $370,532. Sheehan won $37,000 and leads the LPGA at $492,474.

Both won a portion of the $200,000 bonus offered by Phar-Mor to the top 50 money-winners in the tournaments it sponsors at Inverrary and at Youngstown. Daniel, tied for eighth at Inverrary, got the top bonus of $50,000.