Dent-Trevino Race Not Better Than Baseball’s to ESPN

Jim Dent knocked Lee Trevino out of a share of the lead in the richest tournament on the Senior PGA Tour.

DeWitt Weaver knocked himself out of a course record.

And the National League West race knocked today’s final round of the $1.5-million Vantage Championship out of its assigned time slot on the ESPN schedule.

The last round of the tournament at Clemmons, N.C., originally was scheduled to be shown on a tape-delayed basis starting at 1:30 p.m. PDT.

But with the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants tied going into their final regular-season games, the cable network decided to go to baseball and delay the telecast of the golf tournament until 6 p.m.

Dent, a runner-up in this event the last two years, birdied all the par fives in a six-under-par 66 Saturday.

The tour’s biggest hitter was at 131 after two rounds on the Tanglewood course, and he needed the 13-under total to withstand an outstanding scoring exhibition that produced two course record-matching 64s.

Trevino, who shared the first-round lead with Dent, birdied the last hole for a 67 that put him one behind going to the final round.

Weaver and Jim Colbert, the winner of this title the last two years, got in contention by matching the course record set by Gary Player in the 1974 PGA Championship.

Weaver, who was third alone at 135, should have been even better. His 64 included a double-bogey on the final hole.

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Bob Estes shot a five-under 67 and held a two-stroke lead over course record-breaker John Inman after three rounds of the Buick Southern Open at Pine Mountain, Ga.

Estes had a 54-hole total of 10-under 206, and Inman’s 64 on the 7,057-yard Callaway Gardens Mountain View course got him in contention in the $700,000 tournament.

Russ Cochran, Mike Springer, Fred Funk and Willie Wood were all four shots back. Second-round leader Tom Lehman, who shot a 76 Saturday, was another shot back.

The course record fell for the second day in a row. Inman was one stroke better than Lehman’s round on Friday.

“My round could have been a lot different,” Estes said. “I made some putts that kept it together.”

He credits a change in routine on the green with his solid putting.

“I am getting ready a lot quicker on the green,” Estes said. “I don’t take a practice putt unless it’s a really long putt.”

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Steven Richardson of England shot a two-under 70 and held off a charge by American Chip Beck with a birdie on the 18th hole for a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the German Masters at Monsheim, Germany.

Beck, after shooting a 63 Friday, finished in pouring rain with a 69.

Boxing

Heavyweight Jeremy Williams of Long Beach almost knocked Mark Young out of the ring, dropping him him with a left hook 2:31 into the sixth round of a scheduled 10-round, nontitle fight at Atlantic City, N.J.

Former World Boxing Assn. champion Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa stopped West Turner in the fifth round Friday night at Sacramento.

Motor Sports

Cory McClenathan of Anaheim led the quickest qualifying top fuel field in NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series history Saturday at the Sears Craftsman Nationals at Topeka, Kan.

McClenathan covered the quarter mile in 4.789 seconds at 285.44 m.p.h. It took a 4.934-second run or better just to make the the 16-car field for the finals. The previous quickest field came earlier this year at Houston where the bump was 4.951.

Darin Brassfield won the one-hour, series-ending Exxon Supreme GT race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Miscellany

Dean Smith, North Carolina’s basketball coach, will receive a $500,000 bonus for a four-year, $4.7-million agreement with Nike that will provide shoes, clothing and equipment to 24 of the school’s athletic teams.

Washington Redskin defensive end Charles Mann will have an arthroscopic examination on his left knee Monday and will sit out that night’s game against the Miami Dolphins. . . . Ron Harris won the New York Road Runners Club Fifth Avenue Invitational one-mile run in 3 minutes 58 seconds. Lauren Gubicza won the women’s mile in 4:37.9.