ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 15, 1996 TAG: 9607150104
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG
SOURCE: Associated Press
Scott Hoch ended the suspense in the Michelob Championship almost before it began.
Hoch, who started play Sunday with a four-stroke lead, birdied the first three holes for 4-under-par 67 and a tournament-record 19-under 265 total, good for a wire-to-wire, four-stroke victory over Tom Purtzer.
``I wanted to start off pretty quick, and you can't ask for more than that, birdieing the first three holes,'' Hoch said.
Hoch earned his second career start-to-finish victory and seventh PGA Tour title overall. He broke the tournament mark of 266 set by Lanny Wadkins in 1990 and matched by Kenny Knox and Mike Hulbert in 1991.
``I tried to be aggressive early,'' Hoch said. ``I even surprised myself a little bit. Two is a difficult hole, so I was hoping to birdie two of the first three. To birdie all three was a nice plus.''
The early binge gave Hoch a six-stroke lead and allowed him to play safe, perhaps even tentatively. A bogey at No. 10, right after Purtzer birdied the hole, cut the lead the three.
Hoch came right back with a birdie on the next hole to get back to 18-under, then sealed it with a 12-foot birdie putt for the record on No. 15.
``For a tournament, I can't remember making as many putts over 12 to 15 feet as I did here,'' Hoch said.
Purtzer had a bogey-free 66 on the 6,797-yard River Course at Kingsmill Golf Club in his best finish since he won the 1991 World Series of Golf.
Defending champion Ted Tryba shared third at 272 with Fred Funk and Michael Bradley. Tryba, who won with a 272 last year, closed with a 67, Funk had his third straight 69 and Bradley matched the day's best with a 66.
The victory, Hoch's first this year, was worth $225,000 and moved him to fifth on the money list. |AP Scott Hoch celebrates his wire-to-wire victory in the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill Golf Club in Williamsburg.
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