Glasson’s Finishing Touch Preserves Phoenix Victory

Bill Glasson knows this much about himself: When there’s a tournament to be won, he’ll be there.

“I pride myself in my ability to take it home,” he said after shooting a seven-under-par 64 Sunday to win the Phoenix Open by three strokes.

“You know, to not fold my tent coming down the stretch. Obviously, what I need to do is get there more often. That’s one of the things I hope to accomplish this year,” he said.

Glasson finished with a total of 16-under 268 in gaining the sixth title of his 11 years on the PGA Tour.

Glasson has won six of the seven tournaments he has led in the final round. He won $216,000 with his first 1994 finish in the money. He missed the cut at the Hawaiian Open, then skipped last week’s Northern Telecom Open. His winnings for the event exceeded his season earnings for all but four of his 10 years on the PGA Tour.

He has been forced to adjust his swing since curing a back problem that stemmed from multiple operations on both knees from the 1970s until 1984. An inflamed back muscle nearly ended his career in 1991.

After the Hawaiian Open, Glasson went to work on his swing.

“If I’d played Tucson last week, I would have shot a million,” Glasson said.

Bob Estes, a non-winner in six years, kept the pressure on until he bogeyed the 15th hole after Glasson birdied it. He got back on track with a birdie on the final hole and earned his biggest check--$129,600--by finishing alone in second at 271.

Mike Springer, Jeff Maggert and Blaine McAllister tied for third at 272, while Rick Fehr, who started the day tied with Andrew Magee and Dan Forsman, shot a 71 and dropped back to 273 with a bogey on the last hole. Tom Lehman also finished at 273.