Italy Stuns U.S. in Dunhill Cup, 3-0

Three of America’s Ryder Cup stars--Payne Stewart, Mark O’Meara and Tom Lehman--were upset Friday by Italy, 3-0, virtually knocking the United States out of the Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews, Scotland.

The Americans, ripped throughout Europe for bad manners at the Ryder Cup, got their comeuppance on the par-72 Old Course by one of the world’s golfing lightweights.

“To beat the USA is a great day for us,” said Massimo Scarpa, who defeated Stewart, 71-72, in the second round to complete the sweep. He thrust both arms over his head at the 18th green and clenched his fists in American Ryder Cup fashion.

“I’m very happy,” said Scarpa, who had only won $43,000 in European tour events through last season. “It’s fabulous. It’s marvelous. It was a dream for us. Now it’s reality.”

Emanuele Canonica, a journeyman, beat Lehman, 72-74. Lehman took a one-stroke penalty at 18 for failing to putt out. He parred the hole--after narrowly missing a curving 10-footer--and was given a five.

Costantino Rocca, a former Ryder Cup player and the only “name” player on the team, defeated O’Meara, 70-72.

The Americans now are longshots to reach the semifinals. They play Sweden today.

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Tom Byrum succeeded where no one else could, shooting a four-under-par 67 in the second round of the Michelob Championship to take a one-shot lead over Mike Weir, Notah Begay and Scott Gump at Williamsburg, Va.

On a day when the likes of Nick Faldo, Corey Pavin and others made moves and then faltered, Byrum overcame a double-bogey on his seventh hole with four birdies coming in to be the only player to go lower than five under and make it stick.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Byrum said after reaching the midpoint at six under on a day when the 6,853-yard River Course at Kingsmill frustrated most of the field. “The way my year’s gone, I haven’t been in this position a lot.”

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Bruce Fleisher has been nearly unbeatable on the Senior PGA Tour this year. Hubert Green has struggled to stay on leaderboards. Though they’ve taken different paths, the old buddies ended up in the same spot after the first round of the Transamerica at Napa, Calif.

Fleisher and Green were co-leaders after shooting six-under 66s on a warm, wind-free day. They held a one-shot lead over Dale Douglass, Howard Twitty and Walter Hall in an event that includes nine of the top 10 money-winners on the senior tour this year.

Fleisher has five victories and leads the money list with $1.95 million in his first year on the tour, after a mostly undistinguished PGA Tour career that featured only one title in more than 400 events.

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Rookie Marisa Baena shot a four-under 68, Jenny Lidback had a 69 and the South American natives shared the lead after the second round of the LPGA First Union Betsy King Classic at Kutztown, Pa.

Baena, 22, of Colombia, birdied three of her final four holes for a 36-hole total of 138 at the 6,085-yard Berkleigh Country Club course.

Lidback, a 36-year-old citizen of Peru, matched her opening-round 69--thanks to a 50-foot birdie putt--to stay in the hunt for her first win since the 1995 du Maurier Classic.

One shot off the pace are Hall of Famer Beth Daniel and tour veteran Laurie Rinker-Graham.