GOLF ROUNDUP : Couples’ One-Two Punch Wins

Fred Couples, recovering from a back injury that kept him out of golf for almost four months, shot a seven-under 65 Sunday morning, then had a 68 in the afternoon and beat Corey Pavin by two strokes in the Buick Open at Grand Blanc, Mich.

“It’s very exciting. It was highly emotional for me,” said Couples, who lost to Pavin by two strokes at the Los Angeles Open in February. “I had a lot of thoughts going through my mind.”

Couples closed out his first victory of the season--and the 11th of his career--with a birdie on the final hole, hitting his seven-iron approach less than two feet from the pin and making the putt for a 270 total.

“Corey birdied 17. That kind of puts a lump in your throat,” said Couples, who earned $198,000 of the $1.1-million purse. “But then I put it close and I was very, very happy. I knew this was a wonderful opportunity and I didn’t want to waste it.”

The 36-hole finish was necessary after the opening round was postponed Thursday because of rain.

Curtis Strange, Steve Pate and Greg Kraft were tied for third at 276. Ben Crenshaw and Keith Clearwater finished at 277.

*

Carolyn Hill shot a three-under 69 to win the McCall’s LPGA Classic at Stratton Mountain, Vt., by three strokes over Nancy Ramsbottom. It was Hill’s first victory in 14 years on the LPGA Tour.

Hill tied the tournament record with a 275 total. Ramsbottom, seeking her first victory in 10 years on the tour, shot a 70 for a 278.

*

Jim Albus saw his lead shrink to one stroke when he bogeyed the 15th hole, then birdied the next two holes to win the $700,000 Bank of Boston Senior PGA Classic at Concord, Mass., by two strokes.

Albus scored his second victory of the year with a two-under 70 that gave him a 54-hole total of 203, 13 under at the Nashawtuc Country Club.

Bob Brue, with a 65, and Raymond Floyd, with a 69, finished second with 205 totals.

*

Tiger Woods of Cypress birdied the second hole and never trailed as he defeated Chris Riley, 2 and 1, to win the match-play championship at the 92nd Western Amateur tournament at Point O’Woods Golf and Country Club in Benton Harbor, Mich.

Woods, 18, moved to a 3-up lead with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. Riley, 20, of San Diego, birdied the 14th hole to cut Woods’ lead to 2 up, but Woods halved the next three holes.

“This win means a lot to me,” Woods said. “All the big tournaments I’ve won until now have been junior tournaments. This is a great tournament on a great golf course. It really is the Masters of amateur golf.”

*

Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe shot a course-record seven-under 65 to defeat Spain’s Seve Ballesteros by a stroke and win the BMW International Open at Munich.