Golf Roundup : Faldo Finally Finishes First

Scoring 5 birdies en route to a final-round 68, England’s Nick Faldo overtook 3rd-round leaders Seve Ballesteros of Spain and Sandy Lyle of Scotland to win the $963,000 Volvo Masters golf tournament by 2 strokes Sunday at Sotogrande, Spain.

Faldo finished with a 4-under-par 284.

Ballesteros and Lyle both found the Valderrama Golf Club’s greens difficult. Ballesteros had a final-round par 72 and finished 2nd with 286. Lyle had a 74 and was 3rd at 288.

Faldo’s victory ended a frustrating string of 8 2nd-place finishes this year. Three came in playoffs, the most bitter an 18-hole setback to Curtis Strange for the U.S. Open title in Brookline, Mass. His only previous 1988 victory came in the French Open a week later.

“It has been a heck of a 18 months ago, but I knew something was going to happen,” Faldo said.

Larry Mowry shot a 1-under-par 71 to win the $250,000 Las Vegas Senior tournament by 2 strokes.

Mowry finished with a 54-hole total of 12-under 204 to hold off Bob Charles and Bobby Nichols.

Mowry, who started the round tied with Charles for the lead at 11-under after rounds of 68-65, earned $37,500 with a round that featured 6 birdies, 3 bogeys, a double-bogey and 8 pars.

American Beth Daniel shot 3 birdies en route to a 3-under-par 69 and the individual play title, and her U.S. team beat a Japanese squad in the Nichirei 1988 Japan-U.S. women’s golf championships at Tokyo.