By Mike Wynnn
Staff Writer
Augusta Chronicle

MARRIETTA - Steve Hart should check his mail this week for get well and thank you cards from Paul Stankowski.

They will probably have an Augusta postmark.

Stankowski, who made the BellSouth Classic field as the sixth alternate after Hart withdrew on Wednesday because of a bad back, became the latest first-time winner on tour with a playoff victory over Brandel Chamblee. Four of the last five winners on the PGA Tour have been first-timers.

Stankowski earned the final spot into the 1996 Masters with the victory. The starting field for the Masters, which begins Thursday, is 93.

He won on the playoff's first hole, the par-5 18th, with a 12-foot birdie putt after Chamblee dunked a 1-iron approach in the water on his second shot. His winning score was 8-under par 280.

For the El Paso, Texas resident, the win means several firsts for him.

He becomes the first player since John Daly to be the last player to get in a field and then win the tournament. Daly was the ninth alternate when he won the 1991 PGA Championship, getting in after Nick Price withdrew to attend the birth of his son.

He becomes the first player in PGA history to capture a Nike event (the Louisiana Open) and a PGA event in back-to-back weeks.

He makes his first Masters.

His clubs had barely cooled off when he received a fax from The Augusta National offering him help on finding accommodations during the tournament.

``I've never been to the (Masters), and I didn't want to go to Augusta until I was invited,'' said Stankowski, who lost his Tour card last year after not being among the top 125 money winners.

Stankowski came into the BellSouth Classic as the leading money winner on the Nike Tour this year with $46,800.

``I think a lot of the guys winning out on the Nike Tour can come out here (on the PGA Tour) and win,'' Chamblee said.

Look no further than Stankowski as an example. He shot a tournament record of 22-under par at the Louisiana Open last week and proved his mettle under fire after having some of the biggest names in golf nipping at his heels Sunday after he took the lead.

He was paired with Fred Couples, winner of last week's Tournament Players Championship on the big tour. But, the presence of one of the PGA's premier players did not intimidate Stankowski.

In fact, it was a pairing he was hoping for.

``I was looking forward to it,'' said Stankowski, who trailed third round leader David Duval by three strokes at 7-under par entering the final round. ``I was looking forward to playing with Freddy. I wanted to play with a star.''

Stankowski had every opportunity to fold but came up big when it counted the most. He made tournament saving par putts on the 17th and 18th after errant approach shots put him in bunkers on both holes. But, a decision Chamblee made to carry a 60-degree wedge instead of a 2-iron contributed heavily to his win. About 227 yards from the green on the playoff hole, Chamblee skulled a 1-iron into the water guarding the hole.

``You know, it would have been a perfect (shot for a 2-iron),'' he lamented later.

``You're always guessing 1- or 2-iron every night. It turns out I made the wrong guess.'' Chamblee's decision let Stankowski make a trip down I-20 East today.

``A month ago, I hadn't made a check on the tour,'' he said. ``Now it's like amazing. I'm going to Augusta.''

BAD VIBES: Duval and Tommy Tolles maybe should try to avoid being paired together again, particularly in the final round of a tournament.

For the second consecutive week, the two lost a chance to notch their first win. Tolles led entering the final round of the TPC and was paired with Duval, but both were overtaken by Couples.

The two faded badly on Sunday, with Duval shooting a 4-over par 76 and Tolles limping in with a 3-over 75.

``It's hard to look forward to (Augusta) when I had a finish like I did today,'' Duval said.