Two tournaments, two close calls

Two great PGA Tour events in two weeks, two deserving winners and two close-call runners-up.

So goes the life on the PGA Tour these days.

To paraphrase Gary Van Sickle of the Sports Illustrated, golf is not as much about winning as it is about not losing. And losing J.L. Lewis did last Sunday at the Buick Invitational.

The 41-year-old Kansas native with one PGA Tour win-1999 John Deere Classic-under his belt, Lewis was tied for the lead at 10-under with Jerry Kelly and another fortysomething veteran Mark O'Meara. But given that Kelly already has a win on the Tour this year and O'Meara is a two-time major champion, Lewis was clearly the sentimental favourite going into Sunday.

Neither Kelly nor O'Meara seized the moment, with the scores of 73 and 70, respectively. Any score over 70 in the final round is not good enough to win on the Tour any more. Popular John Daly managed a 70 after nearly holing out for an eagle on the final hole but settling for a par. He finished at fourth, two strokes behind the winner José Maria Olázabal. The Spaniard, who made the cut on the number at one-under, shot 67-65 in the final two rounds to capture his first PGA Tour title since the 1999 Masters.

But back to Lewis. He was having a steady round and the key birdie at the 17th hole put him in tie with Olázabal, who had just birdied the final hole four groups ahead of Lewis'. The 18th hole, once an almost sure birdie hole, had recently been lengthened thanks to the extensive renovation undertaken on the Torrey Pines South Course. At 551 yards with a pond guarding the undulating green, the 18th hole would decide the result of the tournament.

Olázabal, never known as a long or an accurate driver, laid up on the hole and successfully sank the three-foot birdie putt. Lewis also decided to lay up, but his outcome was much different.

Lewis found rough with his tee shot, and with the ball sitting up on the thick grass and his adrenalin pumping, he hit his 6-iron approach too far; by about 30 yards in his estimation. That left him with about 72 yards, and he was between two clubs; a full lob wedge and a three-quarter sand wedge.

In the end, he put his third shot with a lob wedge 45 feet above the hole, facing a slick downhill putt for a birdie and his second career victory. Lewis' poor stroke left the first putt about eight feet short-then he badly pushed the next putt, which would have forced the playoff with Olázabal.

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