Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 25, 1994                   TAG: 9407250095
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LAKE ORION, MICH.                                LENGTH: Medium

SHEEHAN ETCHES HER NAME ON ANOTHER U.S. OPEN

She scrambled for a birdie on the 16th hole Sunday and went on to win the U.S. Women's Open by a stroke over Tammie Green.

``I stayed home and practiced all last week,'' Sheehan said. ``I worked pretty hard. That seemed to pay off.''

In capturing the Open for the second time in three years, the LPGA Hall of Famer used a deft putting touch to win her fifth major championship.

``It's just a great feeling to have my name on that trophy again,'' Sheehan said. ``There are a lot of names on the trophy of people who have repeated as U.S. Open champions. But to do it in this day and age is amazing.''

Sheehan and Green closed with par-71s on the Old Course at Indianwood Golf and Country Club. Wearing bright red knickers and white knee socks, Sheehan finished at 277, sealing her triumph with a par on the final hole after Green's 12-foot putt for a birdie and a tie rolled just outside the right edge of the cup.

``It just didn't end up the way I would have liked to have it end up,'' Green said. ``I felt like I made a good go at it.''

Green, who won a major in 1989 at du Maurier Classic, has one victory this season and was seventh on the LPGA money list at the start of the Open. Sheehan came into the Open ranked 24th on the money list, due mainly to a strong showing in the Skins Game.

``It doesn't matter,'' Sheehan said. ``Saturday taught me that you don't have to go out and shoot numbers to win an Open. I stayed steady. I didn't beat myself up when I hit a bad shot.''

Liselotte Neumann of Sweden shot a 69 for and was third at 281. Spain's Tania Abitol and Peru's Alicia Dibos tied for fourth at 283. Those were the only golfers to break par as Indianwood came back to punish the field for the liberties taken in the early rounds, right after the course had been softened by rain.

Helen Alfredsson completed her collapse Sunday after breaking Sheehan's 36-hole record by two rounds with a 132. The Swede got to 13-under after the first seven holes of the third round, then dropped eight strokes the rest of the round. A triple-bogey at No. 7 in the fourth round put her at 1-over, a drop of 14 strokes in 18 holes.

``Helen came up to me after I finished,'' Sheehan said. ``She congratulated me. She said she was betting on me. She had a smile on her face. I think she'll be OK.''

Green caught Sheehan at 6-under with a birdie at the 12th hole, hitting a marvelous recovery from the right rough to within five feet of the pin and rolling in the birdie putt.

On the pivotal 16th, a 404-yard par-4, Green drove a fairway bunker but made par. Sheehan drove in the right rough, recovering with a 7-iron to within five feet of the pin. Sheehan sank almost to her knees when the birdie putt eased into the cup.

``Patty had a tough lie,'' Green said. ``But that was a very good shot she hit.''

As she does so often, Sheehan was scrambling again at the home hole. Her drive landed in the right rough while Green's booming drive cut the dogleg right, hit the downslope of the fairway and rolled down the hill almost to the green.

Sheehan slashed her approach to the middle of the green, one of the largest putting surfaces in the United States. Her lag putt stopped about three feet from the cup. Using a little gamesmanship, she let Green finish first, even though Sheehan's ball was a little outside Green's. That put the spotlight where it belonged, on Sheehan.

As the putt dropped, Sheehan thrust her arms. She ran and jumped into the lap of her caddy, Carl Laib, then took off on a victory dance around the green, waving her visor. She stopped when she got to Green and the two embraced.