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Heavyweight dual Doyle beats Fleisher in playoff at State Farm Classic
Updated: Sunday July 29, 2001 7:18 PM
HUNT VALLEY, Md. (AP) -- There's a certain satisfaction that comes with beating the best, even if the victim is one of your best friends. So, after Allen Doyle won a playoff duel against Bruce Fleisher to capture the rain-soaked State Farm Senior Classic on Sunday, he made no effort to mask his delight. "We've got three or four guys who carry the weight out here," Doyle said, "and when you beat one of those guys, it's extra special." In a battle between the two top money winners on the senior tour, Doyle made a 4-foot par putt on the third playoff hole to win his second tournament of the year. The victory was worth $217,500 for Doyle, who moved within $40,590 of Fleisher on the senior money list. "I'm thrilled to be in that company," the soft-spoken Doyle said. Playing in a driving rain, Fleisher and Doyle put their second shots into a bunker on par-4 17, the third hole of the playoff. Doyle blasted to 4 feet before Fleisher hit his shot about 20 feet past the hole. Fleisher two-putted before Doyle calmly dropped his putt into the middle of the hole. "He had no chance to get it closer than he did," Doyle said. "He didn't make it, and I did. What a great thing." Fleisher, who gave Doyle a good-natured jeer when the winner walked into the media tent, talked glowingly of their longtime rivalry. "We finished 1-2 in tour school and have been going at it ever since," said Fleisher, the U.S. Senior Open winner. "It's good for the game. He's trying to beat my brains in, and I'm trying to beat his brains in." It was Doyle's seventh career win on the senior tour. Earlier this month, he won the Ford Senior Players Championship, one of four majors on the tour. Both players parred No. 18, the first playoff hole, then moved to the par-4, 362-yard 10th hole. Fleisher put the pressure on Doyle with a 15-foot birdie putt, but Doyle responded by sinking his putt from four feet. Fleisher pulled Doyle's ball of the hole and kiddingly gestured as if to throw it down the fairway. Doyle shot a 5-under 67 for an 11-under 205 total in the three-day tournament. Fleisher, who had a bogey and double bogey on the first three holes, recovered to shoot a 69. "I don't get to beat [Fleisher] that often," he said. "Everytime you go up against Bruce, you have to play pretty much a mistake-free round." Doyle, who began the day two shots back of co-leaders Fleisher and Jim Thorpe, took the lead with three straight birdies on Nos. 8, 9 and 10. He also birdied 12, but a bogey on 15, combined with Fleisher's birdie on the hole following an outstanding shot from the lip of a bunker, created a tie at the top. Both birdied 16, then advanced to the playoff with birdies on 18. Thorpe blew a chance to join the playoff when he missed a 5-foot putt on 18 to finish with a 70 and a 10-under total. Thorpe led by two shots after six holes, then three-putted two of the next three holes to fall back. "Seven and nine were the holes that really hurt me," he said. Thorpe got into the hunt with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, but it wasn't enough. "I take my hat off to Allen," Thorpe said. "How does he do it every week?" Mike McCullough finished fourth, shooting a 69 for a 208. He was part of a four-way tie after 15 holes, but dropped out of contention with a bogey on 17. His hot-and-cold round featured an eagle, four birdies and three bogeys. Tom Kite shot a 70 and finished fifth at 207.
With the win, Doyle earned 218 points and took over the lead
from Fleisher (1,753-1,724) in the Charles Schwab Cup. The points
leader after the final event of the year will be awarded a $1
million annuity.
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