Nobilo Gets Win, Els an Assist

Frank Nobilo can thank buddy and former U.S. Open champion Ernie Els for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Nobilo missed his third cut in five American tournaments last week and was about to skip the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic in North Carolina when Els told his 36-year-old New Zealand roommate he was going to play this week--period.

Nobilo is glad he took Els’ advice after he birdied six of his final 11 holes Sunday, then made a scrambling par on the first playoff hole to beat Brad Faxon.

Nobilo, who started the day five shots off the lead, tied Faxon at 14-under-par 274 through 72 holes, forcing the fifth playoff in the last 10 years at a sopping wet Forest Oaks Country Club course.

The rain was pelting down on the pair and No. 18 was close to unplayable for the first sudden-death playoff hole, where Nobilo hit his third shot from 75 yards to within eight feet and made a par-saving putt.

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Hale Irwin, battling gusty winds and putting problems the entire day, rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to beat Isao Aoki by one shot in the Las Vegas Senior Classic.

Irwin shot a one-over 72 on a day when winds gusting to 50 mph made playing conditions difficult. Irwin got his second straight win and fourth in seven official events this year on the Senior PGA Tour.

Irwin also claimed the fastest start in Senior PGA Tour history with his eighth win in 42 starts since joining the tour in the summer of 1995.

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Rain washed out the final round of the Chick-fil-A LPGA Charity Championship at Stockridge, Ga., giving Nancy Lopez a two-stroke victory, her first win in almost four years.

Lopez completed her third round by parring the 18th hole Sunday morning for a 66, then got in only two more holes before the tournament was called. The victory was worth $82,500, lifting Lopez’s career earnings to $1,620,635.

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Greg Norman took a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Spanish Open at Madrid, but a round of 70 wasn’t good enough for Norman to win as he bogeyed the third playoff hole and lost to England’s Mark James.