Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 17, 1995 TAG: 9504190009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Ray Floyd slammed the door on any would-be challengers with a string of 14 consecutive pars Sunday in the PGA Seniors Championship, claiming the title he let slip away a year ago.
``Last year has nothing to do with it,'' Floyd said after he turned a two-stroke lead into a five-shot victory and showed why he is one of golf's great front-runners.
That reputation was damaged a year ago when, in the same tournament and on the same Champion course at the PGA Resort, he uncharacteristically blew a four-shot lead with eight holes to go as Lee Trevino won the title.
Most of his self-inflicted damage last year came on the 15th and 17th holes, both water-guarded par-3s, where he carded 7 and 5, respectively.
This time he parred them routinely and cruised to his 10th victory on professional golf's 50-and-older circuit.
It marked his fifth triumph in the six times he has led or shared the lead going into the final round of a senior tournament. The only loss was in this event a year ago.
The only hope anyone had, Trevino said, was that he would do it again. But it didn't happen.
``He started off great and then just sort of coasted in,'' Trevino said.
``I put that behind me a year ago,'' Floyd said. ``If I had to dwell on bad shots, bad holes, bad tournaments, I don't think I'd be here. I don't play in the past. I play in the present.''
This time there were no presents for Floyd's pursuers. He did not make a bogey. From the front, he birdied the third (from about 15 feet) and the fourth (from eight) and basically wasn't threatened.
``Basically, no one mounted a challenge,'' Floyd said after finishing with a solid 70 and an 11-under-par 277 total.
Trevino, on the mend from a neck surgery and not yet a winner this year, birdied the last hole to finish with a round of 71 and a tie for second at 282. He shared that spot with former club pro Larry Gilbert and Houston stockbroker John Paul Cain, each of whom shot 69.
Billy King, the club professional at Blue Hills Golf Course in Roanoke, shot his second consecutive 75 and finished 22 strokes behind Floyd. His 11-over 299 total was worth $1,750.
Former club pro Jim Albus twice was three shots off the lead on the front side, but could not sustain the drive. He played the back nine in 40, shot 75 for the day and finished nine behind.
Jack Nicklaus, playing a tournament for the fifth consecutive week for the first time in 25 years, also was three shots behind Floyd after birdies on the third and fourth holes. His game deteriorated on the back nine, and he took himself out of it with three consecutive bogeys. Nicklaus finished with 74 and a 284 total.
by CNB