Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 23, 1990 TAG: 9004230265
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Elkington, who grew up in the town of Wagga Wagga in the outback region of Australia, made up a seven-shot deficit Sunday to win his first title on the PGA Tour.
Elkington birdied the last two holes to complete a round of 6-under-par 66 and finish with a 72-hole total of 282, two shots better than Jeff Sluman and Mike Reid.
After completing his round, Elkington had to wait almost an hour until the final groups finished play. He had not been on the leader board all week until he played the back nine Sunday afternoon.
"I've been where those guys have been four or five times, where I was in the last group, and I've seen some guy ahead of us win the tournament," said Elkington, 27. "That's a good way to do it, I think. Just sneak in there."
Elkington matched the best final-round comeback on the PGA Tour this year, joining fellow Australian Greg Norman, who came from seven shots back with 18 holes remaining to win the Doral Ryder Open.
"It's a huge, huge win for me," said Elkington, a 1985 graduate of the University of Houston. "It's taken the monkey off my back. I've kind of been the lost soul among the Australians."
Elkington became the fourth Aussie to win a PGA event in the past year, joining Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Wayne Grady. It was the first professional victory of any kind for Elkington, who earned $225,000 for his efforts.
"I think Steve is one of the hidden secrets on our tour," Sluman said. "He's a wonderful striker of the ball. I haven't seen a weakness in his game.
"I'm surprised it's taken him this long [to win]. I think most of the guys would tell you the same thing. It was only a matter of time until he broke through."
Elkington never led until he hit his approach shot 6 inches from the hole at No. 18 and tapped in for birdie to go 6 under par. At about the same time, Sluman was bogeying No. 15 to drop to 5 under.
"A one-shot lead, as you have seen, is not that much," Sluman said. "Somebody described it once as just trying to keep your hands on the wheel.
"I don't think I tried to play defensively. Try to play defensively and sooner or later it's going to catch up with you."
Reid held a three-stroke lead when the final round began, but he is notorious for squandering leads. Sunday was no exception. Reid made only one birdie en route to a 75.
"I have no excuses," said Reid, who has won more than $2.5 million but only two tournaments in nearly 14 years on the tour. "It was a struggle all day long. Really, a 75 wasn't all that bad considering the way I hit it.
"I'm happy for Steve because he's labored under the burden of great potential for a lot of years. I had an opportunity to win if I played a good round, but it wasn't in me."
If anybody was kicking himself, it was Paul Azinger, who was 8 under through 11 holes. But he bogeyed three of the last seven to complete a round of 67 and tie for fourth place with Mike Hulbert and Fred Couples.
Azinger's final round was merely a continuation of a weeklong pattern in which he was 15 under for his first nine holes and 12 over for his second nines. Azinger had 18 birdies and an eagle for the tournament.
"I was Jekyll and Hyde every day," Azinger said. "Dadgum, [it] makes me sick. Never in my life have I done anything like that."
Azinger had awakened with an upset stomach after a late-night trip to Burger King, but he went eagle-birdie-birdie at Nos. 2-4, then made four straight birdies at Nos. 8-11.
"I don't think I've had many runs like that in my whole career," Azinger said. "I would never say I should have won a tournament unless I did something stupid on the last hole, but I could have won this tournament."
Elkington was 1 under Sunday until No. 11, where he made the first of five birdies on the last eight holes. His entire week was a study in perseverance. He had been 4 over as late as the 13th hole during Thursday's opening round.
"About that time I was trying to figure how to get out of here and get back to Houston for a few days," Elkington said. "Seriously, though, I knew there was a long way to go and a lot could happen."
Elkington finished 83rd and last among players who made the cut at the GGO in 1989, but he enjoyed a successful year otherwise. He ranked 61st on the money list and has improved his earnings every year, including this one.
Keywords:
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by CNB