Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 5, 1990 TAG: 9003052302
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
After coming from seven strokes back with a course- and tournament-record 62 to gain a place in a four-man playoff, he heeded the advice of his caddy on the first extra hole of the Doral Open.
"Chip it in," Bruce Edwards whispered to the Australian. Norman did.
From behind the green on the first hole at Doral's Blue Monster course, Norman chipped in from 22 feet for an eagle-3.
"It's the first time I've ever chipped in to win a tournament," Norman said.
But it certainly was not the first time he has been involved in a tournament settled by a chip-in, sand shot or some other unlikely event.
He was the victim of Bob Tway's last-hole sand shot in the 1986 PGA championship and Larry Mize's extra-hole pitch-in for the Masters title less than a year later. He lost the 1984 U.S. Open in an 18-hole playoff and last year's British Open in an unusual four-hole playoff that he finished with his ball in his pocket.
Everything that could go wrong, it seemed, would go wrong for Norman at crunch time. But, not this time.
Norman had to shoot 10 under par in the last round to have a chance at the playoff. He did.
Norman had to have a last-hole bogey from Mark Calcavecchia to make the playoff. He got it.
Norman had to have another 72nd-hole bogey from Paul Azinger to make the playoff. He got that, too.
Norman had to hole the chip from behind the green for an eagle-3 (his second of the day) to win it. No problem.
And he had to have Tim Simpson miss a putt from about the same distance on the playoff hole to make that eagle stand up as a winner. Simpson's putt hit the left edge of the cup and spun out.
"There was just no way it could come out of the hole," Simpson said.
But it did, and Norman, who won the Australian Masters a week ago, acquired the eighth American PGA Tour title of his career and his 60th around the world.
For the record, he won with a 273 total, 15 under par. Azinger, Calcavecchia and Simpson all matched that total, but had to settle for a second-place tie when Norman's playoff chip ran into the cup.
by CNB