The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 14

B-2 -THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR- MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1989. GTE had Classic crowd, players and atmosphere Phil Richards The players rave about the course, designed in 1928 by the savvy old Scot. Donald Ross. The $350,000 purse is exceeded in only 13 of the Tour's 42 events. Corporate sponsorship has doubled and the stampede already is on to sign up for next year.

What the GTE North Classic has become, in only Its second year, is one of the better stops on the Senior Tour. "It's unusual to have a new event viewed so highly in the minds of all the players," said Bert Weaver. Senior Tour Tournament Supervisor. "The best barometer of an event Is the quality of the field." The GTE North Classic attracted 47 of the top 50 money winners In 1988, 46 this year. "It's a very, very enjoyable course to play." said Player.

"The fairways are as good as you'H ever play, anywhere. Indianapolis Is a wonderful town. I would always make an effort to play here." Here was Dent, a man Of unlimited strength and unbounded goodwill, knocking it out of sight, then bogeylng the 72nd hole In a brave bid for birdie to fall out of mind. And there was GTE Saturday evening In the midst of the violent storm that washed out second-round play, stepping up to say that the entire $350,000 purse would be honored even if a Sunday rainout cut the tournament to 18 holes. The whole thing was a first-rate show, fun and memories enough to go around amongst the 30.000 who came out to watch.

Greenskeeper Bob Brame and his crew should take a bow. Come hell or high water and both came they kept the golf course not only playable but plush. "As good as any we play all year." said Walter Zembriski, who should know. The GTE North Classic was the 30th event on (he Senior Tour this year. Zembriski has played 24.

TT WAS Arnold Palmer's 60th birthday Sunday. It was Gary Player who celebrated. Palmer got a warm greeting and a halting happy birthday serenade from the grandstand crowd beside the 18th green at Broadmoor Country Club. Player got the GTE North Classic's $52,500 winner's check. Again.

Indianapolis did right well, too. For the second straight year, it got great golf and great memories. How's this for a leader board: Plaver (67-68135). Billy Casper (67-69136). Al Geiberger (68-68136).

Joe Jimenez (68-68 136) Jim Dent (67-70137). Mike Hill (67-70137). Dale Douglass (67-70 137) Bruce Crampton (69-69138) and Gay Brewer (69-69138). The Senior PGA Tour's best players, all in a row. "We want this tournament to be the best event Indianapolis could have," Red Keith, GTE Area Vice President-Sales, said last week.

Broadmoor, the folks at GTE and the members of the Senior PGA Tour delivered. Here was Player, coming off a two-month break from the Tour, hitting a 9-iron to 5 inches on No. 16 to make such a proud, plucky defense of the title he won a year ago. There was Douglass, shooting 5-un-der 67 In the opening round Friday and repairing straight to the practice tee. "Needed to figure out how I did it so I've got a chance of doing it again." said Douglass.

And we wonder why they're so good. Here was Jerry Barber, 73. playing a fade from here to Thursday, shooting 70-77-147. Barber is 5-5, 142 pounds, the smallest, oldest player in the field. There was the odd couple plus one, Crampton.

Brewer and Miller Barber, paired together for the final round. Crampton's swing is honey smooth, a rhythmic flow of seamless symmetry. Brewer and Barber? Matched loops wide enough to bring the clubhead in from the vicinity of Toledo. Whatever works. Here was Palmer, on the eighth green Saturday being stung on the neck by a bee.

Playing partner Charlie Sifford recalled a homespun remedy: rub the wound with a tobacco leaf. He treated Palmer with his cigar stub. "It hurt like hell all night," said Palmer. There was Rafe Botts, a Monday qualifier at Speedway GC. where 79 players were pared to two.

Botts shot 69-75 144, all the while flashing a smile brighter than Doug Sanders' electric lemon shoes. 1990 Indy rules anger Penske f''" -)': I I I TV- P5 much about them back then, but once we learned, we were able to make them better. "Is the Speedway interested in safety? I'd rather have an unstable car at 180 miles an hour than a stable one at 230." Sullivan and Mears feel the people who stand to be harmed rrfost will be the smaller teams. "The changes are going to cost more in 1991," Sullivan pointed out. "I asked Carl Haas how much it would cost to convert an '89 Lola to '90 rules.

He said $15,000 which isn't much in the scheme of things. "Lola and March have already done a lot on their '90 cars and they aren't going to Just swallow it they'll pass the cost on to their customers." "They're going to make it more costly." added Mears. "Everybody will need two cars next year. But teams like Penske and Haas will show up and go fast." Penske. Indy-car racing's winningest owner, will be prepared to win at the speedway next year regardless of the rules.

"I will not sell any of my '89 cars," Penske said. "We can build an '89 car that would be twice as fast. "No one will sell this year's cars. I won't, Carl Haas won't, none of the big teams will. What they're trying to do is create a controversy.

They're making a major-league mistake." First, you slow the cars down so they won't hit the wall so hard and you make them safer (by moving the driver back). Basically, they're (USAC) going to throw the '90 cars out." Mears was referring to tests run at IMS last October in which he tried an underwing defuser. Although his first Impression wasn't favorable, he became convinced it was the way to go. "I didn't like the first three corners," Mears continued. "But after you drive the car and figure out where's better, you like it.

"We did a good test for them with Jack Beckley (USAC's technical director) and everyone was in agreement with what we had accomplished." "And Goodyear hadn't made a tire for that car yet." added Sullivan. "As soon as Goodyear builds a tire, It will bring the car around." Penske and Sullivan also took exception to the argument that he (Sullivan) had considered the car unstable. "They said he (Sullivan) said the car was unstable, but he only did six laps in it. And like Rick said, once you get used to it, you see the benefits." "You can make cars unstable," Sullivan Interjected. "They did that in Formula One." "The first ground effects Indy car I drove was the most unstable car I've ever driven," added Mears.

"We didn't know that By RICK SHAFFER STAR STAFF WRITER Elkhart Lake, Wis. The United States Auto Club will unveil Its 1990 Indy-car rules today and it has incurred the wrath of legendary owner Roger Penske. The Indianapolis Star learned that USAC, which sanctions the Indianapolis 500, will announce that Its rules will permit current Indy cars to compete under existing regulations at the "90 Indianapolis 500. USAC President Dick King refused to comment on the situation, but did confirm that the rules would be revealed today. What it all means Is that the 1990 Indy cars, which will have new safety features designed to slow them down, will undoubtedly be uncompetitive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway because those features are supposed to make them slower than their '89 counterparts.

Championship Auto Racing Teams, which sanctions all other Indy-car races, previously announced a five-year rules package which among other things moves the driver back in the car, changes the setback and size of the rear wing and alters the underwing. CART also Is working on a plan to 'make current cars conform to the latter two changes, but keep them competitive. It was the hope of CART and its teams that USAC's Indy 500 rules would be the same. That Roger Penske apparently will be not be the case. "They are making a big mistake," fumed Penske, shortly after driver Danny Sullivan won Sunday's TexacoHavoline 200 at the Road America circuit.

"No one is making a decision with any expertise. Sullivan and Rick Mears are also puzzled by the impending announcement. "It doesn't make any sense," said Mears, the IMS record holder and three-time Indy winner. "The whole point of the rules is to slow the cars down. We ran a couple of tests for them (USAC) and for CART for our '90 rules.

"Our 1990 rules are sound. ASSOCIATED PRESS Michael runs dry, Danny drives by Boris Becker celebrates his four-set victory over Ivan Lendl for his first U.S. Open title. Becker beats Lendl for first U.S. Open running out of fuel on the last lap In the KmartHavoline Lola-Chevy.

Six other cars ran out of fuel on that lap, as well. "This one hurts a lot." lamented the younger Andretti. who basically lost the race by the equivalent of half a gallon of fuel. "It's pretty much the story of our year. We've been close plenty of times, but have problems getting the Job done.

"We just didn't have enough fuel at the finish. When the engine sputtered, that was it." Polesltter Sullivan led the first 1 5 laps, but lost that lead to Andretti In the pits and then had to stop twice upon exiting to avoid a pair of collisions. He first stopped to miss the Incoming Al Unser Jr. and then got on the brakes hard a second time to miss Jon Beekhuis who was parking his stricken car at the pit exit. That dropped Sullivan 10 seconds behind Andretti and he spent the remainder of the afternoon chasing him.

By RICK SHAFFER STAR STAFF WRITER Elkhart Lake. Wis. Fuel economy runs aren't supposed to be exciting. Sunday's TexacoHavoline 200 at the Road America circuit proved to be Just the opposite, however, as Danny Sullivan swept past a faltering Michael Andretti on the last lap to capture his second victory of the season before a crowd estimated at 69,000. Andretti appeared to have the race in his pocket with a 7-second lead over Sullivan going into the final lap.

But Sullivan, who had pitted for the third and final time on the previous lap, reeled him in. Running out of fuel, Andretti slowed drastically heading into Turn 10 and, because Didier Theys passed him on the right, Sullivan had no choice but to go around on the left. The driver of the Miller High Life PC-18Chevy had to dive off onto the shoulder momentarily, but rejoined the road and came home 41.9 seconds ahead of runner-up Teo Fabi in the Quaker State MarchPorsche. Sulli- CART STANDINGS boost) a little bit and put the aiAMUlrHjo pressure on him to make him 1. Emerson Fittipaldi 165 run harder- which he did, and 2.

Rick Mears 147 we just dove into the pits and 3. Teo Fabi 141 put enough fuel in to go another 1 IaP and he ran out. 5. Al Unser Jr 110 6. Danny Sullivan 93 TheV stuck the fuel in (on 7.

Mario Andretti 89 the last stop) and then they said 8. Scott Pruett 81 we might have miscalculated. 10 Ahe ttdJk 11 But 1 knew we were close wnen 1 iu. Ane Luyenayn 71 caught h(m gQing Tum Qn van's teammate. Rick Mears.

claimed third in the Pennzoil PC- lUioui Sullivan, who pock- 18Chevv $50,160. The Louisville native, who co- had trailed Andretti by as many incidentally captured his 13th as ,3 secondsll at one Point career Indy-car win in this, the dutrinS the race- he was able to 13th race of the CARTPPG se- tcfh up when Andretti made ries. wasn't surprised to win in his third and final fuel stop on such a manner. L(aP 39' Sulvan, he" 1fcut an "We didn't know (Andretti eight-second gap into half a sec- would run out of fuel), but we ond befrQe he dashed for fuel calculated that he couldn't run on LaP 48 at that pace," said Sullivan, who That stop took 6.5 seconds, averaged a race-record 122.803 but Sullivan was able to close on miles per hour. "We're both run- Andretti as the latter slowed up ning Chevrolet engines and pret- to conserve his fuel load.

It ty much figured that we couldn't wasn't enough and Andretti's go as far as he did at the pace he sure win became a disappointing did. sixth-place finish. Ironically, Mi- "With about seven or eight chad's father and teammate, laps to go, we turned up (the Mario, finished seventh after Seniors ASSOCIATED PRESS New York Boris Becker owns a good clump of Wimbledon grass and, now, a solid chunk of U.S. Open cement. Becker proved emphatically Sunday that he is no one-surface wonder.

The Wimbledon whiz won his first American championship and staked his claim to the world's No. 1 ranking by beating top-seeded Ivan Lendl, 7-6, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6. on a sweltering day at the National Tennis Center. "This is much more exhausting." Becker said, comparing the Open to Wimbledon. "It's even more exhausting than the French Open, with the heat, the planes and the spectators." Frequently icing his legs and eating fruit during breaks, the second seed from West Germany took his fourth Grand Slam title.

He won his third Wimbledon crown in July. That double success won't be enough to lift him past Lendl in the computer rankings. But Becker's strong serve and improved court command were enough to outlast the three-time Open champion in the 3-hour. 51-minute battle in temperatures that reached 110 degrees on the court. "I won Wimbledon and the U.S.

Open this year," Becker said. "The computer doesn't say so, but I'm quite close to it, if not No. 1. "Ivan is consistent and he's won many smaller tournaments. But I've learned that the Grand Slams are more important and to do well there is what it's all about.

It's the best I can be." Lendl admitted "there is a very good case" for Becker being No. 1. "But I remember in '86. when I had won two Grand Slam titles and he had won one. you were saying he was No.

1 at the Masters." Lendl said. "I hope you will return the favor." For Lendl. it wa a second straight long and disappointing Open final. After winning three straight titles from 1985-87. Lendl lost in five sets to Mats Wilander last year, surrendering the top ranking that he soon recaptured.

"I'm disappointed," Lendl said. "I gave it my best, what can you do? I had good stamina, but I was missing a little bit of my explosive energy." Becker, 21, now has won four consecutive meetings with the 29-year-old Lendl. They are 7-7 lifetime. Lendl tied an Open record with his eighth consecutive final, something Bill Tilden did from 1918-25. The Czech, who now lives in Greenwich, less than an hour from the National Tennis Center, lost to Jimmy Connors twice, John McEnroe once and Wilander in previous Open finals.

After the first-set tiebreaker, won 7-2 by Becker after moving ahead 5-0, Lendl easily took the second set. But Becker got a decisive break in the eighth game of the third set just after Lendl had broken him. Becker was up a break In the fourth set, but couldn't hold serve in the eighth game. They went to another tiebreaker, which Becker won 7-4 with an ace and a service winner after trailing 2-0. Becker became the first German to win the American men's championship.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA recovered from her singles final loss to team with Hana Mandli-kova on Sunday for the women's doubles championship at the U.S. Open. Navratilova, who partnered with Pam Shriver to win 19 Grand Slam doubles titles, and Mandlikova beat Shriver and Mary Jo Fernandez. 5-7, 6-4. 6-4.

Navratilova and Shriver split as a team last month, although Navratilova has said it is just a temporary Jimenez, 63, also won his sixth RJR Classics event of the year with his 136. Charlie Sifford was next at 145. Don Bisesi of Evansville, the second Hoosier pro in the Classic, had rounds of 75-77 152. And former San Francisco quarterback John Brodie. who might have been wondering how his 49ers were doing against the Colts a few miles away, finished at 1 45 on trips of 72-73.

Mickey Powell this summer." Powell, head pro at GCI and the Indiana Senior PGA champion, finished at 147 In the Classic. Player started the day tied with six other players for the lead at 5-under 67 over Broadmoor's 6.670 yards, which played longer under wet conditions Sunday. He fell a shot back at No. 1 when he missed a 2-foot par putt. He got that back at No.

4 with a birdie 2, chipped in from 15 feet at the seventh and one-putted for a birdie 4 at the 527-yard ninth hole. He parred along until his decisive birdies at Nos. 15 and 16. Geiberger, who had back-to-back birdie 3s at Nos. 6 and 7, admitted he was surprised with Player's victory.

"After taking a couple of months off, and with all the traveling he does, it really surprised me that he came right back and won," Geiberger said. "It got pretty tight at the end, so many guys could have won. I kept telling myself. Hey, you're in this thing, you can Geiberger came close, getting to 8-under with a birdie at 16. He finished with a pair of pars.

"I knew I had to birdie the 17th." he observed. "But I put my tee shot against a tree on the left and had to chip out." The long-hitting Dent, who had battled Douglass for the lead most of the day, fell two shots back at the 15th when he dou-ble-bogeyed from a bunker. "1 hit the wrong club there," he said, "and tried to get too cute with my bunker shot." Still, he came to the 18th hole in the last group of the day with a chance to tie Player with a birdie. He had birdied the par-5 17th. But he flew an 8-iron from 136 yards over the green and into a bunker.

"That was another wrong club," he noted. "I thought It was close, but It went right over the flag." He got a drop from the water-filled bunker, but pitched past and bogeyed the hole. Both Jimenez and Casper, playing ahead of Dent, had birdied the final hole to tie Geiberger for second place. I Continued from Page 1 he said, considering he needed just a par for the victory. Walt Zembriski.

one of his playing partners, had faith in him, though. "There was no doubt in my mind he was going to get up and down," Zembriski said. "He looked comfortable over the ball and he chipped it close." Player holed his 2'i-foot putt for the victory, the third he recalls in Indianapolis. In addition to his 1988 Classic win. Player won the 1964 "500" Festival tournament.

"I would have come bapk here this year even if I weren't the defending champion," pointed out Player, who is the most-traveled professional sportsman with some seven million miles behind him. "I like it here. 1 even came back to play In a charity event (the Borden Pro-Am at Golf Club of Incana) for NEW CAR PHONES SPECIAL UNIDEN 1050 "IT '599 UNIDEN 2m TRANSPORTABLE Cm for 0ttl. Minimum nrtirrw contract roquirad. 347 i fcTsMn Ave..