Lehman Gets Wet and Els Gets Win

In a finish similar to the 1997 U.S. Open, Ernie Els won the Loch Lomond Invitational by one shot Saturday when former champion Tom Lehman drove into the water on the last hole of the course outside Glasgow, Scotland.

Lehman needed a birdie at the final hole to win or a par to force a playoff, but he pulled his drive into the water in the warmup for this week’s British Open.

Els, who birdied the par-three 17th, as did Lehman, wound up with a three-under-par 68 and a total of 11-under 273. All four of his rounds were in the 60s.

In the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional, Lehman bogeyed the 16th to fall a shot behind Els, then hit his shot into the water on the 17th.

On Saturday, Lehman’s errant tee shot led to a bogey and put him in second, a stroke ahead of defending champion Colin Montgomerie, who also bogeyed the last hole.

Lehman, the 1996 British Open winner, said he was not surprised by his final drive.

“It was disappointing, but I was fighting my swing the whole week. Normally when you do that it bites at the wrong time,” he said.

*

Tom Kite, bidding for his second major victory in his first season on the senior circuit, finished the third round of the Senior Players Championship at Dearborn, Mich., with a two-stroke lead over Dana Quigley.

Kite had one bogey in a five-under round of 67 for a 10-under 201 total on the TPC of Michigan. Quigley had a bogey-free 67.

Mike McCullough, playing his 131st consecutive event, a record on the senior circuit, birdied the final two holes in a round of 67 to trail Kite by five strokes in the fourth and final senior major.

*

While most of golf’s top players were warming up in Scotland, Loren Roberts is spending the weekend destroying Brown Deer Park again.

With solid drives, several outstanding putts and one eagle, Roberts shot an eight-under 63 to take the lead into the final round of the Greater Milwaukee Open.

A three-day score of 194 put Roberts 19 under par and tied the tournament record for 54 holes. He has a two-stroke lead over Franklin Langham and a four-stroke margin over Frank Lickliter.

Roberts has won more than $500,000 in 17 previous trips to Milwaukee, and he bookended his 1996 title with runner-up finishes in 1995 and 1997.

*

Heavy rains forced officials to cancel Saturday’s third round of the Big Apple Classic at New Rochelle, N.Y., because of unplayable conditions, and the LPGA tournament was reduced to 54 holes.

Allison Finney holds a one-stroke lead over Annika Sorenstam heading into today’s final round.

*

Clemson’s D.J. Trahan blew a four-hole lead but recovered to beat fellow 19-year-old Ben “Bubba” Dickerson on the first playoff hole in the 75th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Portland, Ore.

By winning the 37-hole match, Trahan secured an automatic spot in the 2001 Masters.