1995 Final Leader Board

1 Lee Janzen 1 272 (won with a birdie-3 on first extra hole) 2 Corey Pavin 272 3 Robin Freeman 273 T4 Justin Leonard 275 T4 Davis Love III 275 T4 Greg Norman 275 T4 Mark O'Meara 275 T4 Vijay Singh 275 T9 John Mahaffey 276 T9 Larry Mize 276 T9 Kenny Perry 276 T9 Nick Price 276 T9 Payne Stewart 276 Complete Scores

By Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 12, 1995; Page C1

It was one hole for the money yesterday at the bumper-car course known as the TPC at Avenel. When Lee Janzen stuck his second-shot 8-iron at the first playoff hole to within 15 feet of the hole, the wildest finish in the history of this star-crossed Kemper Open tournament finally was near an end.

Janzen, 30, the '93 U.S. Open champion, made that one last birdie putt dead solid perfect in the middle of the 18th hole, claiming victory from his old Ryder Cup teammate and good friend, Corey Pavin, who scrambled all afternoon on the back nine to get into the playoff, only to put his second playoff shot at the 18th in the back bunker.

Janzen shot his fourth straight round in the sixties yesterday, a 4-under-par 67 that left him at 12-under 272 after 72 holes. Pavin, who tied the course record with 63 on Saturday, closed with a 68 and 272 for the tournament. He was constantly one-putting his way around the back nine to the accompaniment of great roars from swollen galleries in the record final-day crowd estimated at more than 50,000.

Journeyman Robin Freeman, who's never won on tour, held a one-shot lead at 13 under after he birdied the 415-yard 16th hole, but then crashed and burned with bogeys on his last two holes. He finished third behind Pavin and earned $95,200. Greg Norman was in contention at 11 under through 16 holes when he misjudged the wind at the 195-yard 17th hole and hit his 6-iron tee shot into the pond guarding the green. His bid to win for the second straight week ended there and he finished in a five-way tie for fourth place with Davis Love III, first-round co-leader Vijay Singh, Justin Leonard and Mark O'Meara.

On the first extra hole, Pavin's blast out of the trap rolled about 16 feet past, leaving him still away on his putt for par. He knew he had to make the putt to have a chance against an opponent with the reputation as one of the finest finishers on the PGA Tour when he has a chance to win.

Pavin's putt slid only inches off the right side, meaning Janzen could afford two putts for par to claim his sixth PGA Tour championship. But that wasn't necessary. He rolled the ball in for birdie just as he did on the 444-yard 18th about 25 minutes earlier, when his five-footer for birdie on his last hole of regulation play got him to 12 under. That was the first and only time he was in the lead in the four days. His playoff birdie also was his fifth at the hole this week.

"I felt when I got to 18, I had to birdie," said Janzen, who won The Players Championship earlier this year and went directly from Bethesda to the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y. His victory yesterday also vaulted him into No. 1 on the PGA Tour's money list, with $941,189 in 17 events. "I just knew the birdie at 18 would get me into the playoff."

Playing in the group right behind Janzen, Pavin had to get in at 12 under the hard way. He hit his drive at the 72nd hole into the bunker on the left side, "with as perfect a lie as you could possibly hope for. But I hit a bad shot." Indeed, his 5-iron was well short of the trap on the left side of the green in heavy rough. Pavin still managed to hit a lob chip wedge to 10 feet, then made one more big-time pressure putt to save a remarkable par on a back nine of mostly remarkable recoveries.

"Every hole it seemed like I had to make a short putt," said Pavin, who came into this week with a new putter when he missed the cut in three of his past four events, including the previous two. "I had a short putt to make there {at the 72nd hole}, and I'm pleased with that. . . . To get a little confidence going into next week is good. . . . I'd rather get beat by someone else than beat myself, and Lee beat me."

He beat scads of others with a chance to win this tournament by posting a 3-under 32 on the back nine, including second- and third-round leader Love, who was 13 under after 12 holes with a two-stroke cushion over the field. Then came his wild ride to the finish, with Love losing four strokes to par in the final six holes after an uncharacteristic series of scattershot whacks of the ball.

Nevertheless, Love, playing in the final group with Payne Stewart, still had a chance to get into the playoff with a birdie at the 18th hole. But again his drive was way left into the bunker, and with an almost impossible lie, his next shot went wildly to the left, hit a cart path, bounced over a scoreboard and out of play.

At that point, after a drop, he was hitting his fourth shot, and only playing for a better paycheck. He finished the hole with a double-bogey 6, declined to meet with the media and quickly left the premises after a final-round 73.

Janzen, who grew up in Westminster, Md., and is a lifelong fan of the Baltimore Orioles, had top-10 finishes at the past two Kempers and said he could feel his game coming around in recent weeks. His putting got better as this week wore on, and over the past three days he had only one bogey.

He began his day at 8 under, but had only one birdie on the front nine when he hit a wedge to six feet and made the putt at the 359-yard fifth hole. A five-foot putt at the 165-yard 11th got him to 10 under, still three behind Love, and a two-foot putt after a sweet chip at the 524-yard 13th got him to 11 under.

He had four straight pars coming to the 72nd hole, and pondered using driver or 3-wood off the tee. He said he hit his best tee shot of the day there, leaving 151 yards to the hole. He drew a 9-iron into the green, and watched in great glee as it kicked left and stopped five feet from the pin.

When he made that last putt, it was time to play a waiting game to see what Pavin and Love would do behind him. Pavin, he said, was the last man he wanted to face in a playoff. The diminutive Californian also has a reputation as a gritty closer, and Janzen knew it was coming down to match play against a man who thrives in that format.

But not this day. Pavin, who played a round of golf with President Clinton Friday at Army Navy in Arlington and shot 63 on Saturday, was clearly pumped up in the playoff. His drive was smack down the middle, and he took out a 6-iron for his second shot, one club too many.

"It was a soft six, and I thought I executed a good shot," he said. "But the green was like a rock, and went in the back bunker. I should have known it was that hard, but I didn't hit it in regulation, either."

From the bunker, knowing Janzen had a birdie chance, Pavin said he tried to hit the flag. His ball looked to be on line for the hole when it started rolling, but skimmed past the cup by about five inches and stopped 16 feet below the hole. He was still away, and when he missed the par putt, he knew his chances for victory had just slipped away.

"Lee does a lot of stuff I do," Pavin said graciously. "When he gets into position to win, he wins."

Yesterday, Janzen needed every one of those 72 holes at Avenel to get there. But on the 73rd, it was Lee Janzen exactly where he wanted to be, on top of the leader board of the best Kemper Open Avenel has ever seen.