Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 23, 1990 TAG: 9007230086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND LENGTH: Long
Faldo, methodical and merciless, marched over the ancient fairways of Fife to what he called "every golfer's dream," a British Open victory on the Old Course, the birthplace of the game.
He has won the last two Masters and now, with a second victory in the oldest of golf's championships, he is almost without question its premier player.
But for one lipped-out putt, there wouldn't be the slightest doubt.
"We'll just have to wait a couple of weeks to see how important that lip-out was," Faldo said.
That putt spun out of the cup on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open at Medinah last month. It kept Faldo out of a playoff and a possible victory that, with Sunday's victory, would have sent him into the PGA championship with a chance to become the only man to achieve a one-year sweep of the world's major professional titles.
But the putt didn't fall.
And Faldo, his stony-faced composure broken by the emotion of the moment, had little time to consider it in the wake of a five-shot British Open victory.
"Winning a green jacket is fabulous," Faldo said. "But winning at St. Andrews, in this atmosphere, in this fabulous town, it's very special. It's every golfer's dream."
Along the way to his second major-tournament victory of the year, Faldo destroyed Greg Norman, formerly Faldo's chief challenger to the position as top player of this generation, and beat the best of the rest by five shots.
Faldo, though obviously tempted, stopped short of laying claim to world leadership, a position more or less vacant in recent years.
Asked if he is now No. 1, Faldo said: "Yeah. I think after what I've done over the last four seasons, I've won four majors. I'm the first in a long time to win two in a year."
Then he backed away a bit.
"Obviously, I'd like to get there," he said.
He just failed to make it in one major ranking of world players, remaining fractionally behind Norman.
"Silver trophies are more important than paperwork," Faldo said.
He certainly has the vote of Payne Stewart, the PGA champion.
Stewart's expression showed slight annoyance, like an adult answering the foolish question of a child, when someone asked if Faldo is the best in golf.
"Wouldn't you say he's the best in the world?" Stewart asked.
The record says he is.
In addition to his 1987 Open victory at Muirfield and two Masters victories, he took Curtis Strange to a playoff in the 1988 U.S. Open and just missed a playoff for that title last month.
He is the first since Tom Watson in 1982 to win two majors in the same season, and the first since Watson in 1977 to win the Masters and British Open in the same season.
He did it in a fashion that has become familiar to his competitors: an almost mechanical precision and no mistakes.
"He wasn't going to make any mistakes," Stewart said. "He didn't make any mistakes all week. Why would you expect him to make any today?"
Armed with a five-shot lead starting the final round, Faldo needed only a final round of 71, 1 under par, to finish with the second-best total of all the 119 British Opens, an 18-under-par 270.
Stewart closed to two strokes, but a drive into a bunker on the 13th led to a bogey, and he missed a 12-foot birdie putt he needed on the 14th.
When Faldo dropped a 10-foot birdie putt on the 15th, he was four in front with three holes to play and the old silver claret jug that goes to the winner was his.
"When the lead got down to two, I was battling my mind," Faldo said. "Not until it went back to three did I feel comfortable."
A bogey-bogey finish dropped Stewart back into a tie for second at 275 with Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe.
McNulty closed with the best round of the day, a 7-under-par 65. Stewart finished with a 71 in weather typical of this event when it is held in Scotland: gray skies, cool temperatures, blustery winds.
Jodie Mudd made a run at the leader until he drove into the rough and chopped up the infamous Road Hole, the 17th, with a double bogey. He shot a 66 and tied for fourth with Ian Woosnam of Wales at 276.
Woosnam, too, once got into contention with a string of three consecutive birdies, but couldn't keep it going. "Too many bad shots on the back," said Woosnam, who had a 69.
Norman, who took himself out of contention with a 76 in Saturday's third round, had a 69 and was tied with fellow Australian Ian Baker-Finch at 277.
by CNB