Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 9, 1990 TAG: 9007090103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Wadkins, who had not won a PGA Tour event since 1988, ended his slump in grand fashion Sunday when he captured the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic by five shots at Kingsmill Golf Club.
Wadkins finished with a round of 3-under-par 68 and a 72-hole total of 266, breaking the tournament record of 267 that was shared by Ronnie Black and Mark McCumber.
"I'm glad it's over because my score was going up every day," said Wadkins, who had rounds of 65, 66 and 67 before Sunday. "I'd really rather win by five or six shots than by one.
"I can't get enough of a cushion."
A much-anticipated showdown between Wadkins and fellow Virginia product Curtis Strange never developed. Strange never could reduce the three-shot deficit with which he started the round.
Strange's last hurrah may have come at No. 8, a par-4 hole. Wadkins flew his second shot over the green into some heavy rough and had to settle for a double-bogey 6. Strange failed to pick up any ground, however, after taking three putts from 12 feet.
"That was a killer," said Strange, who closed with a 73. "I hit a poor shot at No. 9 [on his way to a bogey] and couldn't do anything after that. I didn't play very smart and didn't play very well."
Larry Mize trimmed Wadkins' margin to two shots with a birdie at No. 12, but when Wadkins birdied No. 13 and Mize bogeyed No. 14, the rout was restored.
"It's a little frustrating not to keep it going," Mize said, "but five shots behind Lanny [to start the round] is not where you want to be."
Mize made a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to finish with a 68 and sole possession of second place at 271. It was his third runner-up finish and fifth finish in the top five this year.
"Before the year is out, I think I'll sneak in there and win," said Mize, who is second on the tour in stroke average but remains winless since the 1987 Masters. "I feel it's bound to happen sooner or later."
Scott Verplank and Bob Wolcott tied for third at 272, one shot better than Russ Cochran, Ian Baker-Finch and Chris Perry. Strange fell to eighth.
Much was made of Wadkins' first victory in the state in 19 years. But the only times he had played professionally in Virginia were in the Anheuser-Busch Classic from 1981-86.
Wadkins had not played at Kingsmill in recent years because of its timing. The Anheuser-Busch, which traditionally has fallen one week before the British Open, was held one week earlier this year.
The new dates helped attract a glamour field that included Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, Tom Watson and Tom Kite, all of whom made the cut but none of whom was in contention after Saturday.
By that time, it was Wadkins' tournament to win or lose, and he did not give much hope to his pursuers when he birdied two of the first three holes Sunday.
After the double bogey at No. 8, Wadkins saved par with a one-putt at No. 9 and birdied the 10th hole from 15 feet.
"That was important," he said. "It showed the other guys that I wasn't going to go completely south. I wasn't going to back up."
Wadkins has lived in Dallas since the late 1970s, but he had plenty of fans Sunday - not as many as his playing partner, Strange, but that was to be expected.
"Quite honestly, I would have been surprised if the gallery hadn't been for Curtis," Wadkins said. "He lives here. But they also wanted it close. Of course, I didn't want it close."
Wadkins' share of the purse came to $180,000, which had a few more zeros than his $1,000 check for winning the Virginia State Golf Association title in 1971 at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond.
"All my wins are special, but this was very special," said Wadkins, who has 19 PGA Tour victories. "This means so much because it locks up [places in] the Nabisco, Tournament of Champions and World Series."
Wadkins, 40, continued a trend in which each of the last eight PGA Tour events have been won by players 37 or older. But Wadkins wasn't too worried about his two-year drought.
"If I'd been playing really well and hadn't won, I would have been frustrated, but my career's gone this way," he said. "I'll go a couple of years without winning and then win a couple.
"This win tied me with Hale [Irwin] and I also caught Hubert [Green at 19 career victories]. I've been thinking about that. Curtis would have caught me with a win today, and I couldn't have let that happen."
by CNB