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Holding on Davies shoots 2-over 72 but still wins Philips
Posted: Sunday May 07, 2000 07:14 PM
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Laura Davies shot a 2-over-par 72 Sunday but held on for a two-stroke victory over Dottie Pepper in the Philips Invitational. The English star finished at 5-under 275 for the tournament to claim her second title of the year and the 60th of her international career. Sunday's win was her 19th LPGA victory in 12 years on tour. Davies won $127,500 and needs just three more points in the LPGA's scoring system for automatic qualification to the Hall of Fame. The second annual tournament, a tribute to former Austin resident Harvey Penick, drew just a handful of the tour's top players in 1999 but had most of the top players this year. Even with the impressive field, Davies played the most consistent week of golf in windy conditions with low, laser-like long irons off the tees and a solid short game. Only eight players finished under par on the 6,101-yard Onion Creek Club. Pepper started the day seven strokes off the lead but closed with three birdies over the final six holes for a 67. She watched from the clubhouse for an hour as her score kept moving her up the leaderboard. Davies started the final round with a three-stroke lead over Susie Redman and Tammie Green before struggles with her putter let the field stay close on the final day. After a birdie on No. 2 got her to eight under, she lipped out from 18 inches on No. 5 for bogey. Davies then missed an excellent birdie chance on No. 10 when she pushed a 9-footer inches right of the hole. Perhaps still thinking about the missed opportunity, she chunked her tee shot on the 164-yard 11th, leaving it three yards short of the green. After running her chip through the green and two-putting, she found herself just one shot up when Redman birdied No. 12 to get to five under. But even when Davies struggled, none of the day's early leaders mustered a challenge down the stretch. Redman, playing in the group ahead of Davies and without a victory in 15 years on tour, couldn't make the move to tie. After finding the sand on No. 13, she missed a 6-footer for par and missed another short par putt on the next hole before eventually finishing with a 72 and tied for third at 278 with Moira Dunn, who had a 66, and Alison Nicholas, who had a 70. Even though Davies bogeyed twice on the final nine without a birdie, she was still two strokes up with four holes left. She needed a little luck to close it out when her tee shot on No. 16 drifted left and hit a tree only to bounce back into the middle of the fairway. She escaped with par and avoided any danger on the last two holes to claim the victory. Green, who almost withdrew from the tournament on Friday with a stomach virus, twice closed within two shots of the lead on the front nine, but three bogeys in a four-hole span dropped her out of contention. She finished with a 75. Penick was considered one of golf's greatest instructors. His pupils included two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw; U.S. Open winner Tom Kite; Kathy Whitworth, winner of 88 tournaments; Mickey Wright; and Betsy Rawls. Penick died in 1995.
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