For Browne, 66 Is Enough, After All

L.A. Times Archives

May 24, 1999 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

Olin Browne made two eagles and had only one bogey down the stretch en route to a four-under 66, then waited as Greg Kraft and Billy Mayfair faltered to give him a one-stroke victory Sunday in the MasterCard Colonial at Fort Worth, Texas.

Browne won for the second time on the PGA Tour with an eight-under 272 total at Colonial Country Club.

“I didn’t in my wildest expectations think this would happen,” Browne said.

Even when he got to eight under with a 40-foot eagle putt on No. 11, Browne figured he needed to pick up one more stroke, maybe even two.

But Kraft, who had a three-stroke lead at the turn, kept missing greens and it finally caught up with him on No. 17 when his six-foot par putt curled over the right edge. He hit his drive on No. 18 into the gallery, put his approach in the bunker and nearly holed out to force the playoff that Browne was expecting.

Instead, he had to settle for a par to finish at 70 and join four others at 273.

Mayfair, tied with Kraft and Scott Verplank at seven under to start the day, made a bogey from a tough lie in the bunker on 16 and couldn’t manage a birdie. With a nine-iron from the middle of the 18th fairway, he flew the green and nearly went into the water.

Paul Goydos and Jeff Sluman, who also had a 66, finished at 273 along with Tim Herron (67) and Fred Funk (68).

Tom Jenkins couldn’t hold a one-shot lead on the final hole, but recovered to make an 18-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole and beat Jim Thorpe to win the Senior PGA Bell Atlantic Classic at Avondale, Pa.

Sunday marked a pair of comebacks--for Jenkins, a non-winner for 24 years, and for Jack Nicklaus, who shot a second consecutive 70 to finish two under par in his first tournament since hip replacement surgery in January.

Nicklaus, who needed crutches to walk two months ago, was pleased with his two consecutive sub-par rounds and 18th place finish at Hartfeld National. He used the Bell Atlantic as a tuneup for his own Memorial tournament in two weeks.

Tiger Woods built his third-round lead to three strokes at the Deutsche Bank Open at Heidelberg, Germany. It is Woods’ first tournament on the European PGA Tour.

Woods overcame some shaky putting with birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to shoot four-under-par 68. He is at 11-under 205 in an event featuring six of the world’s top 10 golfers.

Englishmen Peter Baker and Brian Davis, who shared the lead with Woods midway through the round, were second at 208. Ernie Els of South Africa was at 209.

Akiko Fukushima, a veteran of the Japanese women’s tour but a LPGA rookie in the United States, shot a one-over-par 71 to hold on for a two-stroke victory over Charlotta Sorenstam in the inaugural Philips Invitational Honoring Harvey Penick at Austin, Texas.

Fukushima, who won 13 titles in Japan before joining the U.S. tour, led every round and finished at 13-under 267 at the Onion Creek Country Club.

Final Results

Top scores after Sunday’s rounds:

PGA

MASTERCARD COLONIAL

Olin Browne, $504,000: 66--272 -8

Paul Goydos, $168,000: 66--273 -7

Jeff Sluman, $168,000: 66--273 -7

Tim Herron, $168,000: 67--273 -7

Fred Funk, $168,000: 68--273 -7

Greg Kraft, $168,000: 70--273 -7

Up Next: Kemper Open