GOLF ROUNDUP : Simpson Saves Victory With 12-Foot Par Putt

Scott Simpson, in danger of closing with four consecutive bogeys and blowing the tournament, made a 12-foot putt to save par on the final hole Sunday for a one-shot victory in the Byron Nelson Classic at Irving, Tex.

Simpson, who led by four strokes with six holes to go, bogeyed three times and was looking at a fourth on the 18th and the prospect of a four-way playoff. But the putt dropped--and so did Simpson, who fell to his knees and tossed his club in the air.

The 37-year-old former U.S. Open champion needed only a one-over-par 71 over the last 18 holes to score the sixth victory of his PGA Tour career.

This one came on a 270 total, 10-under on the Tournament Players Club at Las Colinas. Simpson won $216,000 from the total purse of $1.2 million.

Dan Forsman and Trevor Dodds, two of his three closest challengers when the day’s play started, shot 74 and 78, respectively, and were out of the title chase almost immediately.

Billy Mayfair was the only man to catch Simpson. Mayfair’s 30-foot putt on the 15th for a second consecutive birdie gave him a share of the lead. But he pushed his tee shot out of bounds on the par-five 16th and took a double-bogey seven.

Mayfair (70) tied for second, a shot back at 271 with Corey Pavin and D.A. Weibring.

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Laura Davies made a seven-foot par putt on the final hole at Wilmington, Del., to win the LPGA McDonald’s Championship by one stroke over Sherri Steinhauer.

Davies, a native of England, shot a final-round, two-under-par 69 at the DuPont Country Club to finish with a 72-hole total of 277 and earn the $135,000. She led or shared the lead after each round in winning her fifth tour event.

Davies sat out a 62-minute rain delay before parring the final three holes.

On the 18th, she hit out of deep rough just off the green to seven feet and holed the putt.

Steinhauer, a seven-year tour veteran with one victory, rallied with a par 67 to take second, one stroke ahead of Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson and Laurie Merten, who lives within walking distance of the course.

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Mike Hill, the leading money-winner among the seniors, held off tour newcomer Tom Weiskopf at Charlotte, N.C., to win the $550,000 PaineWebber Invitational by two strokes.

The 54-year-old from Brooklyn, Mich., shot a four-under-par 68 in the final round for a 54-hole total of 204. He was one shot shy of the tournament record and won $82,500, increasing his earnings this year to $417,470.

Weiskopf missed a chance to tie Hill on the final hole. He reached the fringe of the green on the par-five, 514-yard 18th in two, but his chip raced past the hole and he missed a 10-foot birdie putt.

Weiskopf, who won three times in Charlotte on the PGA Tour when the Kemper Open was held there, had to settle for a 69.

It was Hill’s second victory this year and 15th of his Senior PGA Tour career, which began in 1989.

J.C. Snead had a 64 Sunday to establish a record at the TPC at Piper Glen course, climbing into a tie for third with Bobby Nichols and Dave Stockton, one behind Weiskopf.

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Joakim Haeggman of Sweden shot a four-under-par 68 at Madrid to win the Spanish Open--his first European tour title--by two shots over Nick Faldo of England and South Africa’s Ernie Els.

The 23-year-old Haeggman, who finished with a 13-under-par 275 total, also climbed to eighth place in European Ryder Cup points in his quest to become the first Swede to make the team.