Don Pooley ran out of tournament before he ran out of his lead.
Pooley ballooned to a 3-over-par 75 in Sunday's final round, but still managed to finish with a one-stroke victory over fast-closing Gil Morgan in the Amoco-Centel Championship in Mount Pleasant, S.C.Pooley had rounds of 65, 64 and 64 in building a 54-hole score of 193 that left him 23 under par on the 6,871-yard Dunes West Golf Club course and eight shots clear of the field. But Pooley had five bogeys and managed only two birdies on Sunday to finish at 20-under 268 and just enough to hold off Morgan, whose 64 was the best round of the day.
Pooley won $115,000 in the PGA Tour event for players aged 40-49.
Bruce Fleisher, tied with Mark McCumber at 201 after three rounds, shot a 69 on Sunday to finish alone at 270. McCumber was at 271 after a 70.
At 272 were Morris Hatalsky, who shot 68, and Howard Twitty, with a 70, and Mark Hayes was alone at 273 after shooting a 69.
In Madrid, Fred Couples and Davis Love III both sank birdie putts on the 18th hole Sunday, giving the United States team a one-shot victory over defending champion Sweden in the World Cup of Golf.
It was a heartbreaking setback for the Swedes, who had taken a two-shot lead to the 17th tee after Per-Ulrik Johansson, who shot a 65, knocked in a 45-foot putt for an eagle on the par 5 16th hole.
But Love hit a seven-iron to 5-feet for on birdie on the par 3 17th reducing the Swedish margin to one then nailed a pitching wedge to 16 feet on the par 4 18th while Couples hit a wedge to within 2 feet.
The Swedes were unable to sink their birdie attempts.
Love, who finished with a 70, and Couples shared the first prize of $240,000 from the total purse of $1.1 million.
In Honolulu, Chi Chi Rodriguez, ahead by one stroke at the start of play Sunday, birdied the first hole and cruised to an easy victory in the inaugural Senior Invitational at the Ko Olina Resort.
The 57-year-old Rodriguez, of Naples, Fla., played a strong round under tough conditions to finish with at 3-under-par 69. He closed the tournament at 10-under 206, after shooting a 69 Friday and a 68 Saturday.
It was the crowd-pleasing Rodriguez's first victory in more than 18 months.
Charles Coody, of Abilene, Texas, shot a 3-under 69, and finished in sole possession of second place for the three-day event with a 4-under 212.
In Mexico City, Tom Sieckmann shot a final-round 69 on Sunday to win the 36th Mexican Open golf championship by three strokes over Steve Elkington.
Sieckmann completed four tours of the 7,020-yard La Hacienda Golf Club course in 20-under 268. Elkington shot a 70 for 271.
"I didn't play particularly well today," Sieckmann said, "but none of the guys chasing me did, either, so that helped."
Jay Haas, whose 69 left him in a four-man group at 272, had cut Sieckmann's lead to a stroke after 12 holes. But Sieckmann sank a 7-foot birdie putt at No. 13 to push the lead to two and he wasn't pressed after that. He had six birdies, the last at the par-5 18th, against three bogeys.
Although the $100,000 winner's share won't be reflected on the PGA Tour earnings list, the money spends just the same, and Sieckmann said he'll use part of it to take his wife to Hawaii.
In Hanno, Japan, Veteran Betsy King beat rookie Helen Alfredsson on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday to win the $650,000 Mazda Japan Classic, the final LPGA tournament this season.
King and Alfredsson parred the first three holes of the playoff but on the fourth, the 403-yard par-4 17th hole, King sank a 10-foot birdie putt while Alfredsson missed a 2-foot birdie putt.
King birdied the final two holes for a 67 in the regulation round to catch up to Alfredsson, who bogeyed two of the last four holes for a 71.