GOLF ROUNDUP : Archer Gets Senior Win in Playoff

George Archer didn’t think much of his chances when he teed off Sunday in the final round of the $550,000 Kaanapali Classic.

Archer trailed leader Dave Stockton by four shots, 10 other golfers were either ahead or tied with him, and the absence of the usual blustery trade winds guaranteed low scores.

But as Archer would say later, “When you shoot a 63, you have a chance to do something.”

Archer’s eight-under-par 63 at the Kaanapali North course on Maui propelled him into a three-way playoff with Stockton and Lee Trevino. When Archer made a 25-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, he won $82,500.

Each player finished the regulation 54 holes at 14-under 199, Stockton closing with a 67 and Trevino a 64.

Trevino, who never held or shared the lead until the final hole, snuck into the playoff by making a 20-foot birdie putt from the collar of the 18th green.

Returning to the par-four 18th for the sudden-death playoff, each player put his second shot on the green, but Trevino looked to have the advantage when his ball hit the stick and rolled about 10 feet past the hole. Archer was 25 feet away and Stockton 35.

Stockton two-putted for par. Archer then made his putt and it was left up to Trevino to extend the playoff. He couldn’t.

It was Archer’s fourth victory of the year. In his previous three tournaments, he had two wins and a third-place finish.

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The U.S. LPGA team, led by Laura Davies’ 67, padded a big lead by winning 12 of Sunday’s 16 matches and scored its ninth consecutive victory over the Japanese team, 23-9, in the Nichirei International tournament at Ami, Japan.