David Ogrin has a few tips for winning on the PGA Tour.
Play the golf course dozens of times to prepare yourself, sleep in your own bed during the tournament and be sure to let out a hearty laugh when you triple bogey and almost lose the lead."What can you do but laugh?" a gleeful Ogrin said Sunday after shooting and even-par 72 that enabled him to hang for a victory over Jay Haas and a charging Tiger Woods in the Texas Open.
It was Ogrin's first victory in 14 years on the PGA Tour, and he achieved it before a roaring hometown crowd.
"How about that, folks? I wouldn't think that the mess I threw out there today would win a golf tournament," Ogrin said. "It was enough to shoot the low score for the week."
The victory, worth $216,000 from a purse of $1.2 million, left Ogrin with $533,457 in earnings this year. He stands 32nd, and needs to move up two spots next weekend at the Walt Disney Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., to qualify for the $3 million Tour Championship the following week at Tulsa, Okla.
"I now have another carrot dangling in front of me - a chance to go to Tulsa," Ogrin said.
Despite his triple bogey at the par-3 sixth hole and a closing bogey, the 38-year-old Texan finished 13 under at 275. Haas closed with a 70 to finish a stroke back, and Woods was another shot behind after a final-round 67.
Woods, who turned pro in August after winning an unprecedented third straight U.S. title, moved from 40th to 34th on the money list. He has earnings of $518,794.
Lee Janzen - 30th on the list at $540,916 - tied for ninth Sunday.
DUNHILL CUP
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) - Steve Stricker, who failed to qualify for last year's British Open at St. Andrews, helped the United States beat New Zealand 2-1 Sunday and win its third Dunhill Cup title.
Earlier in the day, the United States defeated Sweden in the semifinals of the $468,000 event in a match in which Phil Mickelson got into a nasty exchange with Jarmo Sandelin.
Stricker shot a 5-under-par 67 to beat Grant Waite by six strokes. Stricker was the only player to win all five matches in the competition.
That clinched a third Dunhill Cup victory for the United States after Mark O'Meara had lost to Frank Nobilo and Phil Mickelson had beaten Greg Turner. Nobilo shot a 69 to win by three and Mickelson scored an identical victory over Turner.
"It's been an enjoyable week," Stricker said. "It's been an honor to be on the team and to get to know these guys. It's a week I won't forget."
"We felt we had assembled a good quality golf team," O'Meara said. "Phil has won four tournaments this year and is top of the money list (with $1,620,999) and Steve has won two. We felt that if we played to our ability we should get to the finals and hopefully win."
In the first match, Nobilo birdied three in a row from the ninth to go a stroke ahead of O'Meara from a shot behind. After both had bogey fives at 13, the New Zealander looked in trouble at the 567-yard 14th when his third shot landed in the deep Hell Bunker 100 yards short of the green with O'Meara on in three.
But Nobilo produced a wonder shot from the sand, dropping the ball to within 2 feet and, although O'Meara did well to get down in two from around 80 feet, the New Zealander had a simple birdie to go two ahead with four to go.
That became three when O'Meara bogeyed 16 and Nobilo played par golf at the last two to finish with a 69.
Turner birdied the opening hole against Mickelson who matched that with a birdie at the sixth. The American went ahead when Turner missed a short putt at the par-11th and bogeyed. Turner made up for that with a birdie three at the 12th but bogeyed at the next.
The New Zealander then had two disasters at the tough, par-4 16th when his second shot cleared the green and rolled into a bunker. He got out to within eight feet but his putt lipped the hole for a bogey.
Mickelson's second landed 4 feet from the flag and he rolled it in for a birdie and a three-stroke lead with two to play. A poor chip shot from the edge of the green at 17 cost Mickelson a bogey five but he birdied the last the finish three ahead with a 69.
In the semifinal victory over Sweden, Mickelson not only lost his match against Sandelin but also was involved in an exchange of words with the Swede.
Sandelin said after the match that Mickelson, who leads the money list on the PGA tour, had made uncomplementary comments about his game and also accused the Swede of not showing him respect on the course by effectively cheering his own winning putts.
"On the 12th tee, Mickelson came to me and said `you should show me some respect and don't behave like that.'
"He said `you have been playing (badly) in the States.' I know I have been playing badly there and that's true. But just because he's in the top ten in the Sony ranking doesn't mean he can say things like that.
"I just tried to make my putts and was happy when I made a couple and probably showed it. He was four behind and maybe it made him upset.
"But I did nothing really and I can't understand why he said those things."
Mickelson said the exchange of words was unfortunate.
"Our match could have been conducted with a little more sportsmanship and I was disappointed," the American said. "I spoke to him afterwards and everything is fine."
BETSY KING LPGA CLASSIC
KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Annika Sorenstam pulled away from Laura Davies on Sunday to win the inaugural Betsy King LPGA Classic with an 18-under-par 270 total that tied the season low for a 72-hole tournament.
Sorenstam, who shot a 4-under 68 for her second win of the year, matched Trish Johnson's total at last month's Fieldcrest Cannon Classic.
The win in the $600,000 tournament was worth $90,000 and boosted Sorenstam's season total to $667,311, good for third place on the money list.
"When I came here and played the course, I just felt real comfortable," she said of the 6,075-yard Berkleigh Country Club layout. "Maybe I was the only one feeling that way."
Davies, who would have moved into first place on the money list with a win, shot a 73 Sunday and finished at 278.
The $55,855 second prize boosted her season earnings to $827,483, $420 less than leader Karrie Webb, who took the week off.
Davies is trying to become only the second golfer to lead the money lists on both the American and European tours - Sorenstam did it last year - but the second-place finish put that double in doubt.
TRANSAMERICA SENIORS
NAPA, Calif. (AP) - South African John Bland birdied the final two holes to beat Jim Colbert by a stroke Sunday at the $700,000 Transamerica Seniors for his his fourth victory this year.
Bland, who began the day three strokes behind co-leaders Lee Trevino and Bobby Stroble, fashioned a 66 out of four birdies and an eagle 66 to finish 12 under par at 204.
Jim Colbert, who also has four wins this season, made a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th at Silverado Country Club. His closing 66 made him a runner-up to Bland for the third time this year.
"I was driving well," said Bland, who earned $105,000, pushed his season earnings to $1,195,837 and claimed his fifth career Senior PGA event. "But Bobby (Stroble) had two strokes, and I thought we'd be playing for second place."
Stroble held a two-stroke over Bland and Colbert after 15 holes. But after switching from an iron to a 3-wood, Stroble hit his tee sheet into the back yard of a house adjacent to the course. After a second tee shot, Stroble hit his approach long and chipped short en route to a triple-bogey 7.
Stroble, a non-winner in his 30-year PGA and Senior PGA career, finished with a birdie for a 71 and 206 total that left him in third place.
Trevino's finish earned him $21,350, and pushed his combined career tour earnings to $10,010,599 and allowed him to join Greg Norman and Raymond Floyd as the only golfers to claim more than $10 million in career earnings.