GOLF ROUNDUP : Lietzke Drops 12-Foot Putt on First Extra Hole to Beat Pavin in Colonial

Bruce Lietzke overcame nagging fear and a spike mark to become a playoff winner over Corey Pavin in the Colonial golf tournament Sunday at Ft. Worth.

Lietzke, 40, broke a four-year non-winning string when he used his elongated, 48-inch putter to rap in a 12-foot birdie on the first extra hole.

“With three holes to play there was still the terrible fear I was going to lose this tournament--even though I had not made a bogey, had done everything I wanted to do,” Lietzke said.

And the fear was there on the playoff putt.

“There was a spike mark in my way,” he said. “I couldn’t get around it. I had to go over it. The putt hit the spike mark and jumped--but it didn’t jump off line.”

Moments later Pavin missed from shorter range--about eight feet--and Lietzke had the 12th victory of his 18-year PGA Tour career.

The playoff was set up when the Lietzke and Pavin completed regulation play in 267, 13 under par on the Colonial Country Club course.

Lietzke, who played the final round in 66, shot 130 over the last two rounds and did not make a bogey. Pavin played the last round in five-under-par 65 that included a 15-foot putt for the catch-up birdie on the 17th hole.

The victory was worth $234,000 from the purse of $1.3 million and lifted Lietzke’s season earnings to $440,259.

Lee Trevino made a six-foot putt on the 17th hole and held on to win his fifth senior tournament this year, the Bell Atlantic Classic at Malvern, Pa.

Trevino beat Gibby Gilbert by a stroke in the $550,000 event at Chester Valley Golf Club. Gilbert, who has never won on the tour, had a chance to tie on the final hole but missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 6,608-yard course.

Trevino, who shot a two-under-par 68 final round, finished at a five-under 205 for the 54-hole tournament.

Colleen Walker fended off challengers and frigid weather to win the LPGA Corning Classic at Corning, N.Y., by five shots.

Walker put together rounds of 65, 70, 69 and 72 to finish 12-under-par at 276. She took home a check for $67,500.

In the made-for-TV LPGA Skins Game at Frisco, Tex., Pat Bradley, the all-time leading money winner on the LPGA tour, earned the biggest paycheck of her career on one hole.

A Hall of Famer and winner of more than $4 million in her 18-year career, the 41-year-old Bradley won $200,000 with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole.

That was her only skin in two days, but it made her the top money winner.

Nancy Lopez won $115,000, Jan Stephenson $70,000 and Mege Mallon $65,000.

Bradley’s birdie on No. 13 Sunday came with eight skins up for grabs--one worth $15,000, six worth $25,000 each and one worth $35,000.

Bradley’s previous best payday was $165,000 at the 1991 Centel Classic.