GOLF ROUNDUP : Faxon Starts Fast, Sweats Out Finish

Brad Faxon thought it was an advantage to be first on the course and post an early lead, but he discovered there is downside, too.

Faxon survived challenges by several golfers to win the International with 14 points under the modified Stableford scoring system Sunday at Castle Rock, Colo.

“Boy, that’s the worst part of going off first, having to sit there and watch it,” Faxon said after Lee Janzen, D.A. Weibring, Steve Elkington and Greg Norman fired and fell back on the closing holes.

Faxon gave them the opportunity when he missed a three-putt par on the par-five 17th hole.

“I was gagging,” Faxon said.

The scoring system awards points for a player’s score on each hole: five for an eagle, two for a birdie, zero for a par, minus one for a bogey and minus three for a double bogey or higher.

Faxon, 31, collected $216,000 for his second victory of the year and fourth of his career. He pushed his season’s earnings to $739,093 and went over $2 million for his nine-year career.

Janzen was second with 12 points, with Weibring and Elkington next at 10. John Daly followed with nine points and a distracted Norman had eight.

“I didn’t want to play today,” said Norman, whose home and family in south Florida are being threatened by Hurricane Andrew. “I couldn’t get down there because the airport is closed.”

Mike Joyce shot a 64 in the final round of the GTE Northwest Classic at Kenmore, Wash., coming from five strokes back for his first victory on the Senior Tour.

Joyce, a club pro from Long Island, N.Y., had a bogey-free round, finished at 204 and won $67,000. Mike Hill, the defending champion, finished second at 206.

Kris Tschetter made a 10-foot eagle putt on the 12th hole and went on to win Northgate Classic at Brooklyn Park, Minn., for her first victory in five seasons on the LPGA tour.

Tschetter, 27, had a one-over-par 73 for a 54-hole total of 211, three shots ahead of Deb Richard, who finished with a 75.