Inkster, Pepper Defeated

Wendy Ward sized up her birdie putt on the 18th hole Saturday at Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point and got the feeling there was a little more riding on it than a first-round victory in an unofficial event. When Dottie Pepper and Juli Inkster did not concede the short putt, her suspicions were confirmed.

Ward made the putt, giving her and teammate Grace Park a 1-up victory and ending a string of four consecutive championships by Inkster and Pepper in the LPGA portion of the Hyundai Team Championships.

Ward and Park had a 2-up lead after 15 holes, but birdies on 16 and 17 by Inkster squared the match, setting up the finish and turning a ho-hum first round into a thriller just about the time the made-for-television event went off the air.

Ward reached the par-five finishing hole in two and her eagle putt curled just left of the hole. Dottie Pepper then missed a birdie attempt from 15 feet, but offered no indication she would concede Ward’s putt.

“It’s pretty exciting to beat the four-time defending champs,” Ward said. “I don’t think there was ever a thought of that putt being conceded, but that’s the great thing about match play. You have to step it up a notch in the competition department.”

Especially against Pepper and Inkster, among the most formidable competitors on the LPGA Tour. But Park and Ward were not intimidated, even though Inkster and Pepper hadn’t lost a match in this event since 1996.

“They are successful in this event, but I just thought of them as opponents and nothing more,” Park said. “Maybe that’s why we were able to do so well.”

Ward and Park will play Lorie Kane and Janice Moodie in the LPGA final today.

Kane and Moodie defeated Karrie Webb and Kelly Robbins, 2 and 1, giving the LPGA two close matches, which is more than the PGA Tour or Senior PGA Tour could say.

Tom Lehman and Duffy Waldorf birdied eight of the 12 holes they played and set a tournament record for largest margin of victory in a 7 and 6 rout over Joe Durant and Skip Kendall in one PGA Tour match.

Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia trounced David Toms and Steve Flesch, 5 and 4, in the other.

In the senior matches, Tom Watson and Andy North defeated Arnold Palmer and Bruce Fleisher, 4 and 3, while Allen Doyle and Dana Quigley did not lose a hole in their 5 and 4 victory over Tom Kite and Gary McCord.

The PGA Tour final will be a rematch of last year’s 1-up victory by Lehman and Waldorf.

Watson teamed with Jack Nicklaus to win the last two senior tour titles, but when Nicklaus withdrew last month because of a back injury, Watson selected North, a two-time U.S. Open champion, as a replacement.

The move paid immediate dividends when North hit an eight iron to eight feet on the first hole and made the birdie putt.

Watson chipped in from 60 feet for an eagle on the par-five third for a 2-up lead and the pair rolled from there.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Finals

The championship matchups in the $1.2-million Hyundai Team Matches at the Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point. TV coverage: Channel 7, 1 p.m.

*

PGA TOUR

Tom Lehman-Duffy Waldorf vs. Fred Couples-Mark Calcavecchia

*

LPGA TOUR

Grace Park-Wendy Ward vs. Lorie Kane-Janice Moodie.

*

SENIOR PGA

Tom Watson-Andy North vs. Allen Doyle-Dana Quigley