THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 15, 1996 TAG: 9607150123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: 104 lines
With its long-awaited date change on the PGA Tour's calendar finally a reality, the Michelob Championship has 15 months before it crowns its next champion.
That covers a Masters and a U.S. Open, two British Opens, two PGA Championships, a Ryder Cup and a Presidents Cup.
That's a lot of golf and a load of time. It might take Kingsmill's River Course every one of those days to recover from the thrashing Scott Hoch just gave it - rounds of 64-68-66-67 on the way to a tournament record of 19-under-par 265. He shot a 65 Wednesday in the Pro-Am, too.
Between now and next October, maybe Hoch will win one of those majors, or star in a Ryder Cup or a President's Cup. That's about all he could do at this point to move into golf's upper crust.
Then again, Hoch's acceptance into golf's elite might be met with the same cold shoulder as Rodney Dangerfield's application to the Actors Guild drew.
Hoch realizes certain power-wielding members of some major publications, plus a couple of TV's talking heads, don't readily recognize all he's done in 17 years as a pro. They still point back to the 1989 Masters and a 2 1/2-foot putt he missed in a playoff with Nick Faldo. Or the six-shot lead he blew in the last round at Houston a year ago to lose to Payne Stewart.
``I'm overlooked now when people put their lists together of best players not to win a major,'' Hoch said. ``That's kind of telling you what they think about you anyway.''
Maybe Hoch fights a lost cause when it comes to his image. Maybe he should just take his career winnings - $6,323,903 - and forget the bad press.
Kind of the way he made everyone forget about any ideas of a competitive finish Sunday.
Hoch birdied the first three holes to stretch his lead to six strokes, then found his cruise control in working order.
The only time his lead was remotely threatened came when he made his only bogey of the weekend at the par-4 10th, moments after eventual runner-up Tom Purtzer had birdied that same hole.
``I couldn't ask for much better than that start,'' said Hoch, the season's third wire-to-wire winner and the first ever at Kingsmill.
He hit sand wedge to 5 feet at the first hole, a 3-iron to 15 feet at the second and chipped to within a foot at the par-5 third to set up his third straight opening birdie.
``Doing that made me play more tentative in the middle of the round,'' Hoch said. ``Plus, several holes played tough today.''
The bogey at the 10th, caused by an errant drive into heavy rough and a sidehill lie, woke Hoch from his mid-round trance and he responded with a 20-foot birdie putt at the 11th.
He birdied the par-5 15th, draining a 12-footer, and parred the rest down the stretch to beat the former tournament record of 18-under, shared by Lanny Wadkins (1990), Mike Hulbert (1991) and Kenny Knox (1991).
Were it not for Hoch's presence, Purtzer could have been the runaway winner. His 15-under total following a final-round 66 beat the trio of Michael Bradley, Ted Tryba and Fred Funk by three shots.
``It wasn't really over after three holes, but it pretty much was,'' said Purtzer, who admitted to some leaderboard watching. ``Those guys who tell you they don't watch the board might be fibbing. You have to work at it out here not to see them.''
Hoch's been in Purtzer's position twice this season, finishing second at the Mercedes Championship to Mark O'Meara and tied for second with O'Meara behind Steve Stricker at the Kemper Open. Throw in a third at the MCI Classic, won by Loren Roberts with O'Meara finishing second, and a pattern begins to develop.
``I'm having a pretty good year this year and if Mark O'Meara doesn't play in a couple of those tournaments maybe I win them,'' said Hoch, whose $858,005 in earnings rank him fifth for this season.
Maybe, with the history of this tournament, Scott Hoch winning this title the last time it's played in July is a perfect fit.
Both parties have a strong aversion to this week's British Open - Hoch won't play over there and Kingsmill has had to deal with mediocre fields because of its proximity to the oldest major.
Now, both hope to shed their long-stereotyped images.
``This tournament I feel has kind of gotten dumped on over the years, as far as its dates,'' Hoch said. ``I don't know the inner workings of that and how people get selected dates and better dates than others. But I'm glad for them.'' ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Scott Hoch acknowledges the crowd at the 18th green after completing
his second wire-to-wire championship of the season.
The scoreboard says it all: Scott Hoch's 19-under par 265 set a
rrecord for the Kingsmill event.
MIKE HEFFNER
THE VIRGINIAN PILOT
Dicky Pride towels off on the seventh tee as the heat finally
arrived at Kingsmill Sunday.
MIKE HEFFNER
THE VIRGINIAN PILOT
Second-place finisher Tom Purtzer tried to make a run at Scott Hoch,
shooting a final-round 66, but couldn't get the birdie putts to
fall on the back nine when he needed them, like this one on the 14th
hole. Purtzer finished 15 under, four shots back. ``It wasn't really
over after three holes, but it pretty much was,'' said Purtzer, who
took home $135,000.
WINNER'S SCORECARD
[For a copy of the scoreboard, see microfilm for this date.] by CNB