1993 Final Leader Board

1 Grant Waite 275 2 Tom Kite 276 T3 Michael Bradley 277 T3 Scott Hoch 277 5 Bob Estes 278 6 J. C. Anderson 279 T7 Billy Mayfair 280 T7 Craig Parry 280 T7 Lee Janzen 280 T10 Tommy Armour 281 T10 Ed Fiori 281 T10 Morris Hatalsky 281 T10 John Inman 281 Complete Scores

By Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 24, 1993; Page C1

So many times young Grant Waite could have folded yesterday, so many times in the last three holes he could have wilted under the heart-pounding strain of trying to bring home his first professional golf victory in America against the very honorable and imposing Tom Kite.

But with one improbable twisting 40-foot birdie putt at the 16th hole, and an even more spectacular bunker shot at the 18th, the 28-year-old New Zealander claimed the Kemper Open championship at Avenel with a wild mood-swing-of-a-round of 1-under-par 70.

Waite, who led after the first and second rounds and trailed Kite by a stroke starting play yesterday, posted a four-day total of 9-under 275 that provided his single stroke margin of victory over Kite for his first victory on the PGA Tour. Late-charging Scott Hoch and Michael Bradley shared third place at 277 after final rounds of 68.

Not until Kite had barely missed a curling 20-foot birdie putt at the 18th by less than an inch could Waite even contemplate winning in front of a Sunday record crowd of 51,000 that lined both sides of the last fairway and surrounded the hillside overlooking the green.

But the longest one-foot par putt he'll ever see went dead in the cup to avoid a playoff and assure a victory full of wonderful implications and tinged with so much delicious irony.

First, the implications: Waite, who's wandered the world playing in Asia and Australia the past two years, earned $234,000 out of the $1.3 million purse, not to mention an exemption for the rest of the 1993 season and the following two years and an invitation next April to his first Masters.

The irony was left over from Saturday's round, when Kite, his playing partner over the last 36 holes, saved him from a two-stroke penalty at the fourth hole by stopping Waite as he was about to hit his shot while standing in ground under repair.

On Saturday, when asked if he'd have any second thoughts if he lost the tournament by a stroke, Kite had said, "I won't even answer that one." Asked the same question yesterday, Kite said, "The answer yesterday was as good as it is today. I have no other thoughts about it."Waite did.

"I don't think Tom thinks it's an issue, and I don't think it's an issue," he said. "It shows he's a class act and a great sportsman. He never would have and I never would have let someone break a rule for gamesmanship."

Kite also could look at scads of missed birdie putts and two critical holes yesterday early in a round of 1-over 72 that probably cost him a chance for his third victory of the season, the 20th of his distinguished 22-year career.

On the 359-yard fifth hole, Kite missed a 2 1/2-foot putt for par when he was distracted on his backswing by a clicking camera from the gallery. But Kite, ever the gentleman, refused to make an excuse.

"I lost my concentration on the putt," was all he'd say.

But Waite knew exactly what had happened. "It was a camera that went off when he took the putter back," Waite said. "I don't know who it was ... It was a very loud noise ... It was a terrible thing for that to happen."

Kite then robbed himself of a chance for a birdie on the next hole — the 520-yard sixth — when he gambled on making the green in two with a slicing 4-wood into a stiff breeze. The ball landed short of the green, plugged deep in mud, and left him with an almost impossible third shot.

Kite's only stance without falling into the creek behind him was to hit the ball sideways with his back to the flag. He moved the ball about five feet, chipped to about 12 feet behind the hole and made a breathtaking putt from the fringe to salvage a par. But one of Avenel's best birdie chances had passed him by.

Waite, who had played safe and laid up, made a birdie putt from 15 feet and regained sole possession of the tournament lead. He never would trail again.

"I just didn't get a whole lot out of the round today," Kite said. "Those of you following me didn't see a lot of putts drop. I had plenty of opportunities from the 15- to 20-foot range. I said these guys weren't gonna lie down and play dead. And if you shoot over par in the last round, you're not going to win."

Waite flirted with disaster for most of a day he described as "amazing." He said: "Your emotions are going up and down and around. You've got to spend all day keeping yourself calm and hitting the next shot as best you can. It was an incredible challenge."

It became particularly difficult when Waite butchered the 14th and 15th holes. At the easy 301-yard 14th, he took out his driver and promptly sailed the ball into a stream down the right side. When he missed a 20-foot par putt, he posted his only bogey on the back nine all week. Now, he was only a stroke ahead of Kite, who had his only birdie of the day with an amazing 45-footer at the 12th.

At the 15th, Waite nervously missed a three-footer for par. Kite lagged his 50-footer down to one foot for a par, and it was a three-way tie at 8 under: Kite, Waite and Hoch up ahead.Both Kite and Waite lagged long birdie putts close to par the 17th, so as he stood on the 18th tee, Waite continued to maintain that one-stroke advantage over his far more experienced playing partner.

Each drove his ball down the middle. Waite had 169 yards to the hole, and pulled out his 7-iron. As soon as he hit the shot and heard the chunk of club on turf, Waite knew he'd hit it fat. The ball bounced into a greenside bunker about 20 yards below the hole.

Kite knocked his ball safely on, and many among the thousands gathered on the surrounding hillsides were preparing to move back down to the 17th hole for what looked to be a playoff.

Waite saved them the trip. "I had a perfect lie in the bunker," he said. "I started thinking to myself, 'Come on, man, you've hit hundreds of these.' It was the best bunker shot I ever hit in my life."

The ball came out cleanly, landed about 15 feet short of the hole, then released toward the flag, stopping beyond it.

"I couldn't miss the putt from there," Waite said, adding that, yes, he had seen Kite make eye contact with a look of approval after the ball had stopped.

"He looked over as if he was saying, 'Like wow, great shot.' He wasn't expecting that, and neither did I. ... I'm just proud of myself for hanging in there and toughing it out."

As well he should have against an honorable foe on a memorable final day at the Kemper Open.