Lopez Wins by Two. . .and a Mile : She Dominates Key Stretch of Buena Park Course

The scoreboard indicated that Nancy Lopez won the Nippon Travel-MBS golf tournament Sunday by two strokes, but the margin of victory really was closer to a mile.

Lopez fired a two-under-par 70 to finish 11-under par, two shots ahead of Pamela Wright and Alice Ritzman on the 6,350-yard, par-72 course at Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park.

Lopez was eight-under par on a crucial stretch of holes beginning at No. 9 and ending at No. 12.

Augusta has its Amen Corner.After Sunday, Los Coyotes has its Hallelujah Mile: No. 9 is a 474-yard par five; No. 10 is a 496-yard par five; No. 11 is a 150-yard par three over water; and No. 12 is a 455-yard par five.

It’s actually 185 yards shy of a mile, this 1,575-yard patch of opportunity.

No contender came close to matching Lopez’s performance on those holes for the final two days.

Wright, the third-round leader, was one-under on that cluster of holes during the last two rounds. Rosie Jones, who started the day one shot out of the lead, played them in three-under. Beth Daniel, who tied for fourth, also was three-under. Cindy Rarick, a contender until the back nine Sunday, was two-under, and Coleen Walker played the four holes in one-under.

Lopez began the day nine-under par, one shot back of Wright. Lopez, who already is in the LPGA Hall of Fame, said she was aware of the necessity of scoring well between the ninth and 12th holes.

“Ray (Knight, Lopez’s husband) and I had talked about it. I knew I would have a good chance to get some birdies there,” she said.

Lopez started slow with an opening-round 73. She then put together rounds of 69 and 65.

“I started hitting the ball real well on Friday, but I missed five putts under five feet,” said Lopez.

Lopez began the final round sluggishly with bogeys at No. 2 and 3. She got birdies at No. 4 and 9 to get back to nine-under at the turn. At that point, Ritzman had moved to 10-under with a birdie at No. 12.

On the 10th, Lopez mis-hit a sand wedge on her approach shot 30 yards over the green. But she used the same club to chip the ball in the hole on her next shot. The impressive shot from a downhill lie in the rough gave her birdie and also provided her with her first lead of the day, as Ritzman was making bogey at No. 13.

Lopez moved to 11-under with another birdie at No. 12. She held a two-stroke margin on the field for the last six holes. She took a three-stroke lead briefly, after a birdie at 17, but gave a stroke back with a bogey at 18.

This was Lopez’s 42nd victory in her 13-year career. She earned $45,000, boosting her earnings to $474,103 for the year. Her career earnings total $2,712,158, second to Pat Bradley, who has earned $2,821,217.

“It was particularly satisfying to win because I haven’t really been feeling very good,” Lopez said.

Last week in Seattle, Lopez was having trouble with getting proper dosages of medication for a hyperthyroid condition. She couldn’t get the condition balanced and tied for 38th.

Ritzman, in her 12th season, has never won an LPGA event, but she has been in three playoffs.

She finished second at the Rail Charity tournament three weeks ago but missed the cut last week in Seattle.

Her best finish was second place in 1981 at Paramus, N.J. Her best year was 1986, when she earned $84,443.

Ritzman, who began the day at four-under, was 10-under after birdies at No. 4, 8, an eagle at 9, and birdies at 10 and 12. But at No. 13, a 359-yard par four, Ritzman made her first bogey of the day. That hole has been a stage for a volatile protest by the International Ladies Garment Workers, who are seeking a boycott of one of the LPGA’s official sponsors, a sportswear manufacturer.

Some players said the howling and chanting affected their play on the hole. The performance on the hole was not unusually bad, however. There were 292 pars, 74 bogeys, 32 birdies, seven double bogeys and a triple bogey.

Ritzman three-putted from 45 feet and said the distraction probably was a factor.

Lopez said the picketers bothered her a little.

“With all the noise I just pretended I was in Mets Stadium,” she said.

Wright, with bogeys at the second and fourth holes, fell to eight-under going into the back nine.

The third-round leader made a birdie at the 11th to go nine-under.

Her best chance to put some heat on Lopez came at the 16th. After a long drive into the middle of the fairway, she had a short, nine-iron approach shot. She left it some 30 feet left of the hole, however, and took two putts for par.

AN ANTICLIMACTIC END; Europe retains Ryder Cup after tie with U.S. Randy Harvey’s story, Page 2.