Sigel Has a Historic Day at Ojai : Senior golf: He comes from 10 shots behind to tie Colbert, then wins on the fourth playoff hole.

As he prepared to tee off Sunday in the final round of his fourth Senior PGA Tour event, Jay Sigel had no thought of winning.

In professional golf history, no one had overcome more than a seven-shot deficit on a final round--and Sigel trailed Jim Colbert by 10.

But 5 1/2 hours and 22 holes later, Sigel had his coveted first victory and was $82,500 richer.

With Colbert having a miserable time with his putter and Sigel shooting a course record-tying 62, they finished 54 holes at 198, 12 under par.

Colbert had been 14 under, a record-breaking 126, for 36 holes.

Sigel won the playoff with a four-foot birdie putt on the par-five 18th, the third time they had played the hole Sunday.

It is the final time for the GTE West Classic and maybe the last time the seniors will play the par-70, 6,190-yard Ojai Valley Inn and Country Club course, but it won’t soon be forgotten.

Sigel sank his winning putt from almost the exact spot Colbert missed a birdie putt on the 54th hole that would have won the tournament.

Sigel, recognized as the best amateur golfer in the world over the last 20 years, said he didn’t even think about winning until the 16th hole. He was playing about an hour ahead of Colbert.

“I decided I should go all out,” Sigel said, “but I still thought Colbert would birdie 18, the easiest hole on the course, and win it. I couldn’t stand sitting around waiting, so I went to the practice tee.”

As winner of the U.S. and British amateur championships and a veteran of Walker Cup play, Sigel is a master at match play--which is what a playoff is.

Colbert had lost only once when he led going into the final round.

“But there’s not much you can do when you can’t putt,” he said. “I went with a new putter this week, and it worked great until the final nine yesterday. I began to lose it then. . . .

“When I three-putted from 3 1/2 feet on the third hole, I knew I was in trouble. Yet, I thought I had won it on the second playoff hole (the 419-yard 16th). I hit a great shot from the rough and had a 20-foot putt that just stopped on the edge.

“I had never played with Jay, but I knew he is a quality player. I also knew he had a big advantage on the 487-yard 18th (the first playoff hole) because he hits the ball so far. I hit my drive the first time we played the 18th poorly, and he outdrove me nearly 100 yards. I felt pretty good about getting a birdie to tie him.”

Sigel said he never doubted that he could play on the senior tour, but he was only 11th at qualifying school, which meant he would not play in all the tournaments.

He can stop worrying about that. He has reached his first goal of winning a tournament and now wants to finish in the top 15 in money winnings.

Lee Trevino has helped Sigel adjust to pro golf, but this time, Sigel went against Trevino’s advice.

“He told me not to come to Ojai,” Sigel said. “He said it was not my kind of course because I hit the ball so far. Dave Stockton told me to come here because it is the most beautiful place we play.

“Dave was right.”

Sigel said he had played well in the previous rounds, but the putts didn’t drop when he shot 70 and 66. “I thought I might shoot a 65 today,” he said, “but I never thought about winning it.”

The previous record for comebacks was set by Rocky Thompson on the senior tour when he shot a 61 at the Suncoast in Florida to come from seven shots behind.

Larry Laoretti and Bob Murphy each shot final-round 66s to tie for third at 199.