GOLF ROUNDUP : Brooks Charges With 64, Wins in Playoff

Mark Brooks had 10 birdies and two bogeys to charge to the front of the pack at the Greater Greensboro Open on Sunday, but he needed to save a par from the sand before he could enjoy his work.

Brooks beat Gene Sauers on the third hole of sudden death to take the $225,000 first-place money. The two ended the tournament at 13-under-par 275, with Brooks turning in an eight-under 64 on the warm, muggy day at Forest Oaks Country Club in North Carolina. Sauers had a 69.

“There weren’t too many things that could have gone better,” Brooks said. “You play a dream round every once in a while, but it never turns out what you want it to be. You finish fifth or third or 10th.”

Brooks’ round could have been reason for a victory celebration, but it became cause for anticipation for a playoff.

“I was a lot more nervous in the playoff than I was when I was finishing the round,” Brooks said. He had a string of six birdies over the front and back side, and two more in the last four holes. Still, it wasn’t enough.

After both men parred the first two playoff holes, they returned to the par-three 17th. Brooks hit his tee shot in the left bunker, and Sauers found the right sand trap for the second time on the 200-yard hole.

Sauers blasted out to 20 feet beyond the pin. Brooks wedged it within three feet.

Brooks raised his playoff mark to 2-1. He lost to Tom Purtzer in 1988 in the Southwest Classic, one of two playoffs he was involved in that season. For Sauers, it was his first playoff loss after beating Blaine McAllister in the 1986 Bank of Boston Classic.

After nine holes, Bob Wolcott was 14 under, with Sauers, Jeff Sluman and Duffy Waldorf one shot back. Within five holes, Sauers and Wolcott had tied for the lead at 13 under and Waldorf fell out of the running.

Sauers failed to take advantage of a birdie opportunity at the 13th hole. From three feet, he three-putted and dropped back into a tie with Wolcott.

“I knew that I hadn’t blown it, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good,” Sauers said. “It was like handing the silver platter over.”

Brooks had finished his round by then, and had to wait an hour to see his fate determined. Wolcott played himself out of the playoff at 17 when his tee shot went to the right of the cart path beside the green and he made a bogey.

Wolcott and John Huston finished tied for third at 276. Wolcott finished with an even-par 72. Huston had a seven-under-par 65.

Waldorf, the former UCLA standout, shot a 75 and finished at 279, four back of the leaders.

Mike Hill birdied the final hole after George Archer’s three-putt bogey, giving Hill a one-stroke victory in the Doug Sanders Celebrity Classic at Houston.

Hill’s two-foot birdie putt gave him a 71 and tied the tournament record of 203 for 54 holes. Archer, who held a one-shot lead with two holes remaining, shot a 72-204.

Archer, who shot a course-record 64 on Saturday at the par-72, 6,659-yard Deerwood Country Club, eagled the 505-yard 16th hole to lead by one. But he lost the tournament on the final hole when his 30-foot putt went four feet past the cup and he missed the comeback putt.

Lee Trevino, the defending champion, and Gibby Gilbert were next at 207.