Pernice Gets His First Win

Tom Pernice Jr. sailed past a faltering Tom Lehman with a final-round 65 to win the Buick Open, his first PGA Tour victory, Sunday at Grand Blanc, Mich.

“Obviously, it really hasn’t hit me,” said Pernice, who made more money in one day than in the first 16 years of his professional golf career. “The key was relaxing and avoiding looking at the leaderboard. I never had the wildest idea I would win today.”

His bogey-free final round brought Pernice in at 18-under-par 270. Lehman finished a stroke back after a final-round 71. Lehman tied with Bob Tway, who also had a 65 final round, and Ted Tryba, who made seven consecutive birdies on the back nine before missing a birdie putt on 18. Tryba had a 29 on the bank for a 66.

Pernice continued a tradition of first-time winners at the Buick, becoming the ninth player to gain his first victory at the 7,105-yard Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.

The 39-year-old native of Kansas City, now living in Lee’s Summit, Mo., opened his fateful day with a quiet two-under 34 on the front, then parred the first three holes of the back nine. Then, on the par-five 13th hole, Pernice reached in two with a seven-iron and rolled in a 17-foot eagle putt.

He followed that with a birdie on the 295-yard 14th, where he nearly drove the green, then chipped close. He made birdie putts of 33 and 13 feet on 16 and 17 before finishing with a sand-save par on the last hole.

Lehman, who began the day with a four-shot lead, played two of the easiest holes on the course in bogey-par on the back nine and missed birdie putts on the last two holes. Making either one would have gotten him into a playoff; both would have won the tournament outright.

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Bruce Fleisher, who took a three-shot lead into the final round, survived a two-stroke penalty on the final hole to win the $1.2-million Long Island Classic at Jericho, N.Y., by two strokes.

Fleisher called the penalty on himself for putting without returning his marker to it original place. The penalty gave him a one-over-par 73 final round.

“Thank God I had the four-stroke lead,” he said. “A spectator told me right before I signed my card.”

Fleisher could have been disqualified. As it stands, the rookie on the Senior Tour won his fifth title of the season and moved past Hale Irwin on the money list with $1,668,400, That’s $101,000 more than Irwin and only $26,711 less than he earned in his 27-year PGA Tour career--where he won once.

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Mardi Lunn, 31, of Australia shot a 67 to win the areaWEB.COM Challenge at Sutton, Mass., and earn her first career title, and Jan Stephenson, 47, also shot a 67 to finish one shot back. For fellow Aussie Stephenson, who hasn’t won a tournament in almost 12 years, it was her best finish since 1995.

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Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie completed a runaway victory in the Scandinavian Masters, closing with a three-under 69 in windy and rainy conditions at Barsebaeck, Sweden. Montgomerie took a six-stroke lead into the final round and won by nine. Montgomerie had a 20-under 268 total.

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Final Results

$2.4-MILLION BUICK OPEN--Par 72

Tom Pernice Jr.: 65--270 (-18)--$432,000

Bob Tway: 65--271 (-17)--$179,200

Ted Tryba: 66--271 (-17)--$179,200

Tom Lehman: 71--271 (-17)--$179,200

Bob Estes: 64--272 (-16)--$96,000

$800,000 LPGA

areaWEB.Com CHALLENGE--Par 72

Mardi Lunn: 67--275 (-13)--$120,000

Jan Stephenson: 67--276 (-12)--$74,474

R. Hetherington: 67--277 (-11)--$54,346

Dottie Pepper: 69--278 (-10)--$42,269

$1.2-MILLION SENIOR LIGHTPATH

LONG ISLAND CLASSIC--Par 72

B. Fleisher: 73--206 (-10)--$180,000

Allen Doyle: 67--208 (-8)--$105,600

Joe Inman: 68--209 (-7)--$61,440

Ray Floyd: 69--209 (-7)--$61,440

J. Canizares: 70--209 (-7)--$61,440

Jim Thorpe: 70--209 (-7)--$61,440

Tom Shaw: 71--209 (-7)--$61,440