Playoff Birdie Has Herron Flying High

After Tim Herron, Tom Lehman and Davis Love III spent Sunday battling for the Bay Hill Invitational championship at Orlando, Fla., it was the unlikeliest of the three who finished atop the leaderboard.

Herron’s birdie on the second playoff hole against Lehman gave the 29-year-old from Minnesota his third victory in four years on the PGA Tour and $450,000.

“It means a lot, playing the last two days with Davis Love, a world-class player, and Tom Lehman, a world-class player who probably in the last five years has played the majors as good as anyone,” Herron said. “It’s a great feeling. It’s hard to reflect right now, because I’m on such a high.”

Herron closed with an even-par 72 for 274, while Lehman shot a one-under 71. After he and Lehman made pars on the first playoff hole at No. 18, Herron played the 511-yard 16th hole to perfection--a booming drive down the fairway and a bold approach over the water to about 10 feet.

Lehman, playing only his second stroke-play event since a three-month layoff after shoulder surgery, hit into the bunker for the second time in less than an hour. He blasted through the fairway into the rough, hit over the green and made a 15-foot par putt from the fringe even before Herron lined up his eagle putt.

“I can’t hang my head. I feel like I played well,” Lehman said. “It feels good to be nervous again. Last week at [the] Honda [Classic in Coral Springs, Fla.], I finished last. This was a lot more fun.”

Love, who shot a 73, can blame his putting for finishing one stroke out of the playoff. One day after he made eight birdie putts, Love came up empty in his bid to win Arnold Palmer’s tournament for the first time.

He missed four-foot birdie putts on three of the first four holes, missed an eight-footer on No. 16 and then missed a 10-foot par putt on No. 17 that knocked him out of the share of the lead. Love had a 30-foot birdie on the last hole that slid by on the right.

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Karrie Webb cruised to her third title in six tournaments, defeating Lorie Kane by four shots with a 14-under 274 in the LPGA Standard Register Ping at Phoenix.

Webb shot a three-under 69 in the final round and matched her best start to a season with six top-10 finishes in six events, something she accomplished as a rookie in 1996. Her poorest finish so far was eighth last week in Tucson.

Webb earned $127,500 and increased her tour-leading total to $419,063.

Kane shot a one-under 71.

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Hubert Green and Gil Morgan shot a six-under 66 to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the Legends of Golf, an unofficial seniors event, at St. Augustine, Fla.

The duo finished at 22-under 194, outdistancing Tom Wargo and John Mahaffey by three strokes and winning $158,000 each.

It was the sixth start-to-finish victory in the 22-year history of the two-man, best-ball tournament largely credited with spawning the Senior PGA Tour.

Wargo and Mahaffey shot eight-under on a blustery day in which winds gusted up to 30 mph.

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Final Results

Top scores after Sunday’s final rounds:

PGA BAY HILL INVITATIONAL--Par 72

At Orlando, Fla.:

x-Tim Herron, $450,000 66-69-67-72--274 -14

Tom Lehman, $270,000 69-68-66-71--274 -14

Davis Love III, $170,000 69-66-67-73--275 -13

Robert Damron, $120,000 70-71-68-67--276 -12

x-won second playoff hole

Next: The Players Championship; Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

LPGA STANDARD REGISTER PING--Par 72

At Phoenix:

Karrie Webb, $127,500 68-68-69-69--274 -14

Lorie Kane, $79,129 66-70-71-71--278 -10

Janice Moodie, $51,327 73-73-69-65--280 -8

Jane Geddes, $51,327 75-69-71-65--280 -8

Next: Dinah Shore, Rancho Mirage

SENIORS LEGENDS OF GOLF--Par 72

Two-man, best-ball at St. Augustine, Fla.:

Hubert Green-Gil Morgan, $316,000 61-67-66--194 -22

John Mahaffey-Tom Wargo, $182,000 63-70-64--197 -19

Gibby Gilbert-J.C. Snead, $107,000 68-67-65--200 -16

David Graham-Jay Sigel, $107,000 62-69-69--200 -16

Next: Emerald Coast Classic; Milton, Fla.