David Edwards gave little thought to winning the $1.3 million Memorial Tournament before it started. After all, before this week, he had never broken 70 in 22 previous tries on the Muirfield Village Golf Club course.
And in his eight previous Memorials, he had made the cut just three times, with his best finish a 21st in 1989.Yet when Edwards two-putted the second playoff hole to make par Sunday, Edwards had himself a sudden-death victory over Rick Fehr and $234,000 in prize money.
"Everything's kind of a blur," Edwards said after winning his first tournament since 1984 "I just wanted to go out and play a decent round. "
Edwards began the day five shots behind third-round leader Joey Sindelar. But Sindelar stumbled at the start, shooting 4-over the first four holes to led Edwards and a bevy ofplayers back into contention in a round delayed for two hours and 15 minutes by rain.
Seven players either led or shared the lead Sunday, but it finally came down to Edwards, Fehr and Sindelar on the final hole. Sindelar missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th that kept him out of the playoff.
Edwards and Fehr already were on the 16th hole waiting for Sindelar to finish as darkness closed in. Both two-putted the par-3 16th to make par. Fehr, after pushing his drive right on No. 17 and missing the green with his second shot, failed to make his 8-foot par putt. That left Edwards only to two-putt from 20 feet to win.
"I really got some good breaks today, there's no two ways about it," Edwards said. "I hit some good shots, but you've got to get some breaks any more. At least I do. I'm not good enough to go out and beat all these guys."
Edwards' Memorial win boosted his 1992 earnings to $314,223 for his second best year ever.
At Wilmington, Del., Ayako Okamoto refused to use the word slump in describing her failure to win a professional golf tournament since May 1990.
The 41-year-old Japanese golfer earned $112,500 Sunday by winning the McDonald's Championship by three strokes with a 54-hole total of 8-under-par 205.
After her win she challenged a suggestion that she hasn't been at her best.
"My scoring average is consistent. My average is under par," she said.
Brandie Burton, Deb Richard, and Pat Bradley deadlocked for second at 208. Bradley shot a 66 and Richard a 70 on Sunday.
At Charlotte, N.C., Lee Trevino said Don Bies would be the man to beat at the PaineWebber Invitational.
He was right.
Bies took advantage of Trevino's 17th-hole bogey Sunday to win the PaineWebber Invitational senior golf tournament with a tournament record 13-under-par total.
It was the first victory for Bies since he won the 1989 GTE Kaanapali Classic.
Chi Chi Rodriguez, who tied the course record with a 7-under 65, finished three shots off the pace.