Sander Finds Consolation in Second Place

Who needs to win a golf tournament when second place is worth $108,000?

Jay Don Blake scored his first PGA Tour victory Sunday and Bill Sander fell just short of his, but it was hard to tell the winner from the runner-up after the Shearson Lehman Brothers Open at Torrey Pines.

Sander, 34, was every bit as happy as Blake, 32, and that was understandable considering that this was his biggest payday in a pro career that dates back to 1978. His second prize amounted to more money than he had earned in any season until 1990, when he made $172,886, and more than in his first seven seasons combined. His previous 1991 total was $6,422.

The average golfer doesn’t feel as though he really belongs until he wins for the first time. But when a guy has struggled as long as Sander has without really establishing himself, he tends to be less choosy.

Besides, Sander didn’t stumble into second place with a last-round fadeout, as is so often the case when a golfer has never won. He soared all the way from a 10-place tie by shooting a six-under-par 66, good for an 18-under-par total of 270. Blake beat him by two strokes with a final-round 67.

“This was super,” Sander said afterward. “You need a big tournament to get over the hump, and I think this will do it. Even though I didn’t win, I’m very happy.”

Sander made it clear that his sudden riches wouldn’t deter him from the pursuit of his first tour victory.

“Winning is still my goal,” he said. “I want to win a tournament badly, but it’s pretty hard to jump in and win. I’ll be playing in Los Angeles (the Nissan Los Angeles Open) next week, and this will give me impetus going in. I’ve played well there in the past.”

It was in the Los Angeles tournament three years ago that Sander had his only previous second-place finish. He tied for second that time, behind Chip Beck.

“But I didn’t really come that close,” Sander said. “I got within one shot today, and I have to take my hat off to Jay Don (Blake) for the putt hr made for a birdie on 17. That pretty much decided it.

“I would like to go out there for two or three more holes, but it was quite a week. To come in second after going two over par right away on the easy North course Thursday, I’m quite excited.”

Sander referred to the fact that he had two bogeys on the first eight holes of the tournament. Subtracting that sour start from his 72-hole total, he was 20 under par for the last 64 holes.

It so happened that the first of three fog delays in Thursday’s opening round occurred after Sander had played the eighth hole. When he went back to work, he ran off a string of birdies and finished with a 68.

The next day, Sander shot a sizzling 65 on the tougher South course and moved into a tie for third place, one stroke off the pace. A 71 Saturday seemed to have pushed him out of contention, but only Dudley Hart’s 65 topped his 66 Sunday. He shot 33 on each nine.

After parring the first hole Sunday, Sander had a birdie and two more pars, and he looked upon this as a good omen.

“The first four holes are tough,” he said. “Yesterday, I bogeyed the first two holes, and that puts a guy behind the eight-ball.

For the day, Sander had eight birdies and two bogeys, his unlucky holes being the seventh and 11th. He sank birdie putts of 20 and 25 feet on 12 and 15.

“When I made the 20 footer, that was the turning point,” he said. “After that, I kept my momentum going. I hit a terrible drive on 18, but I was lucky and got a decent lie, and wound up making a real good putt.”

Predictably, Sander was asked if he had done any scoreboard-watching along the way.

“I tried not to look,” he said. “But I had a good idea what was going on, and I heard people saying, ‘You need one more,’ or ‘two more.’ The thing is, if you keep looking at the board, it can hurt you. You can’t let the situation affect the way you play.”

Sander’s one regret was that his wife, Lisa, wasn’t here for his big day. She stayed home in Tallahassee, Fla., where she has gone back to school at Florida State.

“I’m sure she watched on television,” he said. “But any time you’re playing well, you want your better half to be here.”