Olazabal Back in Title Form

And now, how to make the most of your weekend, by Jose Maria Olazabal: Make the cut at the Buick Invitational by one shot, start Saturday in 69th place, begin the last round tied for 11th, absolutely torch Torrey Pines with a searing 65, hold up the trophy by 3 o’clock. Nothing to it.

“You don’t expect to shoot seven-under around here,” Olazabal said. Olazabal nearly holed out from the fairway at the 18th hole, spinning his golf ball within three feet of the hole, tapped in for a birdie and a one-shot lead, then took off to hit a few balls and get ready in case somebody tied him.

No one did, although it required a three-putt bogey from hard-luck J. L. Lewis at the 18th to decide it. Lewis was even with Olazabal after he birdied the 17th hole, but there was trouble lurking. Lewis, who later said he was too pumped up, hit his lay-up shot on the 18th so long he took himself out of the proper yardage to the flag. His lob wedge was in the first cut of rough, some 72 yards from the flag, which a rueful Lewis admitted to be at least 35 yards too close.

His next shot stopped 40 feet from the hole.

With Olazabal still waiting nearby at the putting green, a nervous Lewis stood over his putt. Lewis left it eight feet short, then pushed his par putt to the right to decide it. Moments later, Olazabal accepted congratulations for his fifth PGA Tour victory, but his first since he won his second Masters in 1999.

Lewis was brutally honest in his defeat.

“I just embarrassed myself, what can I say,” Lewis said. “You’re gonna par that hole 99% of the time. I kind of got a bad break [with the bad lie] and then I choked.”

Olazabal said he thinks Lewis will get over it.

“I know he must be feeling sad,” he said.

At the same time, there are more than a few players who have to be feeling downright giddy about the way they finished.

Mark O’Meara, who has struggled this year, closed with a birdie and tied Lewis for second place. Alone in fourth was John Daly, who narrowly missed his first top-three finish in seven years, since his victory at the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews. Lewis, O’Meara and Daly all closed with two-under 70s.

Then there was Tiger Woods, who takes this week off during the Nissan Open after punching out a six-under 66, good enough for a tie for fifth. Woods had seven birdies and a bogey at the par-four fourth, but he thought he could have done even better.

“It’s not too often you are frustrated with a 66, but today is one of those days,” he said.

Woods said he managed to iron out the swing problems which contributed to the 77 he shot on Friday that essentially cost him the tournament. What troubled him Sunday was his putting.

Starting the day tied for 20th, Woods made his move quickly. By the time he reached the back nine, Woods was four under for the round. Woods had three chances to go a lot lower, but he missed a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 11, an eight-foot birdie putt at No. 12 and a seven-foot putt for an eagle at No. 13 where he tapped in for a birdie. “But at least I gave myself a chance on the back nine ... [and] came back after a 77,” he said.

“I just didn’t make the putts. Misread a couple and I hit a couple of poor putts on top of that ... not a good combo.”

With four holes to go, there was a three-way tie among Olazabal, O’Meara and Lewis. Olazabal was done at 13-under 275 and holding a one-shot lead by the time Lewis and O’Meara reached the 16th tee. O’Meara dropped two shots back with a bogey at the 17th, but Lewis rolled in a clutch 10-footer to reach 13-under and tie Olazabal.

All that was left was the beefy, 571-yard par five closing hole.

O’Meara laid up and finished with a birdie, but Lewis was not nearly as fortunate. He said he was nervous standing over his first putt, an emotion he said was uncalled for. “You have to be honest with yourself,” Lewis said. “I’ve choked before and it’ll happen again. It’s my job. You’ve got to learn to handle the pressure or you do something else.”

It has been a long road back to the winner’s circle for Olazabal. He has been working for a year with Woods’ coach, Butch Harmon, to improve his swing. Specifically, Olazabal is trying to extend his arms away from his body during his backswing. It’s not that easy to get it done, especially under pressure, he said. “You wonder if you’ll be able to get back on track,” said Olazabal, who won $648,000. “There’s no secrets in this game, no magic potions.”

But he certainly had one magic shot that he produced at just the right time. It was his lob wedge from 94 yards on the closing hole. Olazabal knew the ball was going to come back a little bit and he was correct. In fact, it nearly rolled back into the hole. “I knew it was going to be good,” he said. “It happened to be very, very good.”

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Buick Invitational Final

Finish of the $3.6-million tournament at Torrey Pines south course. Par 36-36-72:

275 (-13)--$648,000

Jose Maria Olazabal 71-72-67-65

276 (-12)--$316,800

Mark O’Meara 67-69-70-70

J.L. Lewis 68-67-71-70

277 (-11)--$172,800

John Daly 69-70-68-70

278 (-10)--$131,400

Tiger Woods 66-77-69-66

Bob Estes 75-66-71-66

Rory Sabbatini 70-66-71-71

279 (-9)--$104,400

Chris Riley 66-73-71-69

John Rollins 70-67-71-71

Jerry Kelly 73-67-66-73

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NISSAN OPEN

When: Thursday through Sunday

Where: Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades

Schedule, tee times: Thursday--First round, 7 a.m. Friday--Second round, 7 a.m. Saturday--Third round, 8 a.m. Sunday--Fourth round, 8 a.m.

Prize money: $3.7 million.

Defending champion: Robert Allenby

TV: Thursday and Friday, 4 p.m., USA. Saturday and Sunday, noon, CBS.

Tickets: Ticketmaster (877) 614-6245. Practice round badge, $20 (valid today through Wednesday). Tournament daily ticket, $25 (valid any one day, Thursday through Sunday). Daily senior ticket, $20 (ages 55 and over, valid any one day, Thursday through Sunday). Daily youth ticket, $15 (under 17, valid any one day, Thursday through Sunday). Season badge, $80 (valid all week).

On the Net:

www.nissanopengolf.com