GOLF ROUNDUP : Morse Finally Breaks PGA Code, Wins Hawaiian Open

John Morse, again taking advantage of the par-5s, shot a 4-under 68 Sunday to win the $1.2-million Hawaiian Open in Honolulu by three strokes for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Morse, who held a two-stroke lead entering the final round, finished at 269 for four rounds, gaining 17 strokes on the long holes at the Waialae Country Course.

“This was a big win, a big win,” he said. “This puts me in the Masters and the Mercedes Championships and it’s also a big step toward the PGA.”

In capturing the first prize of $216,000, Morse had to hold off six challengers, including Duffy Waldorf and Tom Lehman, who finished tied for second at 272.

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Out of the sand, between the two palm trees, over the greenside bunker, next to the cup.

Sound impossible? Not for Jim Colbert.

Colbert made a remarkable recovery from a bunker on the third hole of a playoff, then made a three-foot putt to defeat Jim Albus in the Senior Tournament of Champions at Dorado, Puerto Rico.

“That was a special shot,” said Colbert, who made the winning putt after Albus missed a birdie try from 10 feet.

“I could have either cut it into the wind or tried to bend it. Neither option was too appealing, especially with bunkers on both sides of the green.”

Colbert elected to play a draw and his 6-iron shot split the trees, cleared the greenside bunker by five feet and rolled within three feet of the cup.

Colbert and Albus had finished 54 holes on the 6,740-yard Hyatt Dorado Beach East course with seven-under-par 209 totals.

Albus missed birdie putts inside 12 feet on the first two playoff holes, then watched his final effort roll over the right lip of the cup.

Colbert, who earned $148,000, had 17 pars and one birdie in closing with a 71.

Albus, who shot 69, seemed poised to run away early. He moved from four-under to nine-under through 10 holes. At No. 12, though, he took a double-bogey, cutting his lead over Colbert to one stroke.

“I played pretty well,” said Albus, who also finished second in the final event of 1994. “I hit just two bad shots at 12 and 16 and that ended up costing me the tournament.”

Second place was worth $87,000.

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Dawn Coe-Jones withstood rainy weather and an elite field of 38 other champions from the past two seasons to win the LPGA Tournament of Champions at Lake Buena Vista, Fla. by six shots.

She closed with a three-under 69, with Beth Daniel the distant runner-up. Coe-Jones had a 72-hole total of seven-under 281 on the North-South course at Grand Cypress.

“I’m in shock,” she said. “You won’t be able to get this silly grin off my face for a few days.”

Daniel, who shot a 71 for a 287 total, was the only other player to finish under par. Pat Bradley (68) and Betsy King (72) followed at par 288, one stroke ahead of Helen Alfredsson (72).

Coe-Jones began the day with a three-shot lead over Liselotte Neumann, who fell from contention when she bogeyed the fourth and sixth holes. The leader made the turn at two-under for the day and birdied No. 11 to maintain a five-shot lead over Daniel and King.

“I tried not to look at the scoreboard, but it was difficult. I’d never been in that position before,” said Coe-Jones, who had never led a tournament after three rounds. “I didn’t settle down until after the sixth hole.”

Coe-Jones earned $115,000--nearly half the $230,388 she won in 1994--for her third victory in 12 seasons on the LPGA tour. She also won the 1992 Women’s Kemper Open and last year’s Palm Beach Classic, which debuts next week in Orlando as the HEALTHSOUTH Inaugural.