Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 25

A5HEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES MONDAY, OCT. 21, 1996 D3 F7 Woods rolls on Wins Disney Classic by one Yf I ft I '4-1 nn i in 1 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ranTOBTH, England Emit Dt (left) iUim beads with VTJay Slndi afttr wimtlnf the World Match Play Chainplosshtp for the third straight yew. Els wins third World Match title Emle Els became the first player to win the World Match Play title three consecutive years Sunday when he defeated VTJay Singh 3 and 2. tle two weeks ago in Las Vegas and finished second last week in the Texas Open, has had an unprecedented run of success since he turned professional eight weeks ago after winning his third straight U.S. Amateur title.

"I was just hoping to get my card," Woods said, standing on the 18th green with the Disney character "Tigger." "I had seven chances, and if I couldn't get my card I was going to go to Q-school," he said. "Luckily, I was playing real well coming off the Amateur." Woods learned of Smith's disqualification after the round. "I'm sorry that happened to Taylor that way," he said. Woods had to fight 18 holes against Stewart, a winner of seven tournaments and two major championships. They began the round at 15 under, one off the lead.

Stewart hit every green in regulation. Woods missed only one, on the first hole when he hit into a fairway bunker, played a draw through a chute of trees into a greenside bunker and saved par with a 15-foot putt "That was the biggest putt all day," Woods said. Woods had three three-putts, including one from 60 feet on No, 9 that dropped him back to 19 under in a tie with Stewart Woods made a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 10th hole, then gave it back with a three-putt from THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -Tiger Woods had yet another incredible moment in his incredible run on the PGA Tour, winning a dramatic 18-hole duel with Payne Stewart on Sunday in the Disney Classic. Woods shot a 6-under-par 66 at the Magnolia Course to finish at 21-under par.

It was one stroke ahead of Stewart, whose 10-foot birdie putt for a tie at No. 18 grazed the left lip of the cup. Taylor Smith, a 29-year-old tour rookie seeking his first tour victory, also finished at 21-under, but was disqualified for having an illegal grip on his putter. Smith was notified of the disqualification on the ninth hole when he was 18-under and trailing Woods by two Tour officials allowed him to keep playing while he appealed, and he made an 8-foot birdie putt on No, 18. Smith used a putter that was slightly longer than normal and had two grips that were not equally round, a violation of Rule 4-lc.

Smith's appeal to the USGA was denied. The $216,000 winner's check gave Woods $734,794 in just seven pro starts. He is No. 23 on the money list, which qualifies him for next week's Tour Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla. "He can do things that I can't do," Stewart said.

Woods, who won his first pro ti THE ASSOCIATED PRESS' LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. Tiger Woods (right) edged Payne Stewart (left) by one shot to win the Disney Classic. Els, a former U.S. Open winner, prevailed on a day when neither player was especially sharp. The latest victory brought the South African's made only five of the short ones.

Woods nearly let the tournament get away. His 10-foot birdie putt on No. 17 ran 6 feet past the hole, and he missed it coming back to reduce his lead to one. With the gallery five deep on No. 18 and some people sticking their heads through the mesh from under the bleachers, Woods left his 25-foot birdie putt about 18 inches short, then had to wait as Stewart missed his birdie chance.

25 feet He took the lead for good on the par-3 12th with a 9-iron from 169 yards that stopped 18 inches from the hole. Stewart knew he couldn't keep up with Woods' length and played a smart round, hitting the fairways in the right spots and leaving himself good chances of birdies. He simply couldn't will them into the cup. Stewart had only two putts longer than 16 feet all day, but D.C. United rallies to win first MLS Cup TP I uumuiauve etuiiuigu ui uhj mm tournament to $780,000.

A. lYI. "The first thing I'd better do is buy a couple of rounds in the bar," Els said. "I didn't play all that great today but, hey, it was good enough." Winner over Colin Montgomerie in 1994 and Steve Elklngtoa last year, Els tapped in a 2-footer at the 16th to clinch a victory that brought him $265,200. Singh won $140,400.

"It's a great feeling to have won it three times in a row," Els said. "Now I will be back next year again. I had to play well because I knew this man would come after me." Singh, one of the four unseeded players in the competition, had to play eight rounds of golf in four days and beat the leader on the PGA Tour, Phil Mlckelson, U.S. Open champion Steve Jones and then British Open champ Tom Lehman to reach the final. "I played OK in the final but I wish I could play it all over again," the Fijian said.

"I had a chance at the 12th hole to get back but I gave the tournament away then. I chipped and I putted really poorly today. "If you give holes to Ernie he's a very hard person to win holes from. I gave him five." Singh even led by two holes after three of the first 18, but Els quickly pulled back and was 1 up after the round. He then won four holes between the fourth to the eighth on the second round to move away for his ninth match victory in a row since he made his debut in the tournament three years ago.

The closest anyone had been to winning three in a row was in 1976 when Hale Irwin, champion for the previous two years, lost at the second extra hole to Australia's David Graham after being two up with four to play. Cink wins Nike Tour championship Stewart Cink, the 1995 college player of the year at Georgia Tech, shot a 1-over-par 73 for a four-stroke victory in the season-ending Nike Tour Championship. Cink, who had a 7-under 281 total on the Settindown Creek course, earned $45,000 for his third victory of the year to push his tour-record total to $251,699. The top 10 on the money list qualified for the 1997 PGA Tour. "To win this tournament in my hometown, against a field like this on this course, it's like a dream way to end a dream year," said-Cink, who also earned $108,710 in five starts on the PGA Tour this year.

"The Nike Tour really trains you about how to play against good players, there's not a lot of hype out here, and that really helps." David Berganlo closed with a 74 to finish second. He made $28,375 to finish fourth on the money list with $146,047. n. not? 1 1. "Today, the fans were the heroes.

To put up with 90 minutes of rain like that was amazing," Eteheverry said through a translator. A media corps swollen with hv ternational reporters packed Uie Foxboro Stadium press box, forcing Uie fire marshall to eject Uie overflow. But in the stands, after a satisfying sale of 42,368 tickets in the stadium, the weather thinned the crowd to 34,643. "There's a lot of warmth' Washington fan Victor Esquivel said in Spanish while keeping his drum dry under his poncho. "We're all moving our feet to keep from freezing." Esquivel was among 60 D.C.

United fans from Virginia calling themselves "La Barra Brava" (roughly, the "Brave who THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FOXBORO, Mass. D.C. United's Mario Gon (11) dribbles around Us Angeles' Cobl Jones during the MLS Cup. The United beat the Galaxy 3-2 In overtime to win the league's first championship. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FOXBORO, Mass.

In a driving rainstorm, the inaugural MLS Cup was a game that shined. Eddie Pope headed in Marco Etcherverry's corner kick 3 Vz minutes into overtime Sunday to complete D.C. United's rally from a two-goal deficit to beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2. "Marco put the ball on my head, as usual," the 22-year-old defender said. "All I had to do was redirect it." All three of D.C.'s goals came off set plays started by Eteheverry, and the first two were scored by coach Bruce Arena's second-half substitutes.

"It's a great day, terrific," a soaked but smiling Washington midfielder John Harkes said. "It's just a beautiful feeling." Tony Sanneh started the comeback by scoring off a free kick in the 73rd minute. Sanneh, who came on for midfielder John Maessner in the 58th, jumped high at the right post to meet Etcheverry's free kick and drive it in from 7 yards out Shawn Medved, who replaced Mario Gori in the 70th minute, tied it with eight minutes remaining. Etcheverry's free kick was punched out by Los Angeles keeper Jorge Campos and landed at Medved's feet Medved took one shot that Campos saved, but the Washington midfielder poked Uie rebounded in. A dozen Washington fans waited more than hour after the game in the pouring rain to catch a glimpse of their heroes.

"It felt like a home-field advantage," Arena said. "They hung in there through overtime. They were brilliant." in rviin anu wen niMuun ucu lur umu ub wiui rvi vei r-. iriL i 1 no non i jumping iiuiii iuui ciguui uii wie iiiuiicjr uot wiui f.iuo,uov. braved Uie 64 degree weather and 30 mph winds to come see their team.

But the weather was Uie only disappointment for those who showed up and to Uie MLS, which had hoped to show off its brand of the world's most popular sport to its first network broadcast ever. Alexi Lalas, of Uie U.S. national team and the New England Revolution, sang the "Star Spangled Banner." He accompanied himself on electric guitar and had a fife-and-drum corps of Minutemen. One banner shown before the game punned off of ABC's Monday Night Football theme: "Are you ready for some Futbol?" The sport long stereotyped by most Americans as dull and low-scoring didn't have to wait long for a goal this time as the Galaxy scored in the game's fifth minute. It was their fastest goal of the year.

low puddles developed after the tarpaulin was removed about 22 hours before kickoff. Los Angeles scored its first goal as Mauricio Cienfuegos bent a left-footed cross from the right edge of the penalty area to Eduardo Hurtado, who outjumped Uie defense 10 yards from the goal and headed Uie ball just inside Uie right post D.C. United then carried the play for Uie remainder of the first half, with Uie Galaxy seemingly content to counterattack. Washington's best chance to tie it came in the 11th minute when Jaime Moreno passed to an unmarked Richie Willians six yards from goal. Williams however, chipped the ball harmlessly over the bar.

With field conditions less than i ideal, Chris Armas gave Los Angeles what seemed to be a safe 2-0 lead only 10 minutes into the second half. It was the 24-year-old American midfielder's third goal of the year, one of which came earlier in the playoffs. He picked up the ball just outside the area, one-touched it past a retreating Jeff Agoos and blast it past goalkeeper Mark Simpson from about 16 yards away. Despite Uie horrible weather, which included 30-mph wind gusts, MLS Cup '96 still drew a crowd of 34,643 to the Foxboro Stadium. The rain that pounded Uie Boston area for more than a day made Uie field heavily soggy.

A few shal Michael Christie ($193,971) also secured a PGA Tour card along with Joe Durant Brett Qubdey Dave Rummedi P.H. Horgan III Skip Kendall ($107,396) and Eric Johnson Brott takes Seniors Club Pro Championship John Brott shot a 3-under-par 69 closing with birdies on the three of the last four holes for a four-stroke victory Sunday in the PGA Senior Club Professional Championship. ti ii rr ii. j. i 1 h.m i-, 1 i-n jit nroit, ou, uie neaa proiessionai ai iiniDer nidge uou uiuo in lanauega, snot a a-unaer-par oa on uie iois course ior a a- Gordon still likes chances for points title under 279 total.

"I kept to my plan and was able to be detached from what was going on around me and concentrate on every shot," said Brott, who earned $14,000. i "I'm the last person who expected to be holding the trophy, but today my putter starting working." Two-time winner Tom Joyce of Huntington, N.Y., also shot a 69 to finish second. Jim Jewell of Naples, Uoyd Monroe of Larchmont, N.Y.; Dan Wood of Winter Springs, and BID HaH of St Louis tied for third at 284. Sorenstam wins women's World Championship Sweden's Annlka Sorenstam shot a 2-under-par 70, beating compatriot Helen AHredtson by a shot Sunday to win the World Championship of Women's Golf for the second straight year. Sorenstam started the round with eight pars, then made three birdies before her lone bogey at the 13th hole I She thrilled 6,000 spectators at the 9th and 14th holes, both par-4s, with long par-saving putts.

She won with a 274, 14-under at the Ildong Lake course. Selig skips another labor meeting Acting commissioner Bud Sellg missed baseball's bargaining session for a third straight day Sunday, annoying negotiators for I both sides and leading to a largely unproductive session, i Owners negotiator Randy Levlne and union head Donald Fehr 1 1 have said Seng's presence Is necessary to conclude an agreement by the end of the World Series. i However, Selig didn't arrive in New York until It was too late to attend the session, according to baseball sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Levine and Fehr, who broke up their meeting to attend i Game 1 of the World Series, were unsure whether Sellg would at-. a- tend Monday's meeting.

If a deal isn't reach by the end of free agent filing, which con-r dudes 15 days after the World Series, the union would scuttle the owners' attempt to start interleague play next year, i It also would mean that small-market teams would not re-. celve revenue-sharing money and there would be no luxury tax to slow payroll growth among the large-market teams. 1 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS top-10 finish, but that won't get the job done now. We're running out of time." I Oh, brother! A year ago it was Ward Burton who surprised everybody by winning the AC-Delco 400. Sunday, it was younger brother Jeff Burton who nearly pulled off the upset Jeff led 14 laps late in the 393-lap event at North Carolina Motor Speedway, but lost Uie top spot to Ernie Irvan on lap 263.

He managed to stay in contention and was second until lap 370 when Dale Jerrett got by. Burton, with worn tires slowing him down, eventually faded to a fifth-place finish. "I thought Wilkesboro hurt," said Burton, referring to the race on Sept 29 when he contended but wound up fourth. "But this one hurts more." Burton was fifth on the final restart on lap 826, with Ricky Rudd leading after staying on the track while Uie other leaders, including Burton, pitted for gas and tires during a caution period. "I thought we had Rudd where we wanted him," Burton said.

"He was on old tires. We just didn't get ourselves good enough for that last run. We were loose on long runs and just never could fix it." Speed trap Sterling Martin was never in the hunt Sunday, finishing a lap down in 13th with car-owner Larry McClure acting as his crew chief for the first time in several years. McClure took over Uie pit duties after parting company with longtime crew chief Tony Glover after he learned Glover was planning to leave for another job at the end of the season. "We got caught speeding on pit road today, and that put us behind," McClure said.

"At least (NASCAR) said were speeding. We don't think we did. "We had one bad set of tires; the ones we started on. We dropped back to 33rd after the penalty, so I think we made a good comeback. We made the right decisions today adjusting Uie car.

It came alive." Marlin said, "We had a sixth-place car at least, but that penalty just got us behind Uie eight ball. We had to use up the car petty good trying to get back to the front" THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ROCKINGHAM Good day or bad day, Jeff Gordon tries not to let his emotions ride a rollercoaster. But it was hard not to be down Sunday after a problem with a set of tires in the early going relegated the defending Winston Cup champion to a 12th-place finish that knocked him out of the season point lead. Gordon, who came into the AC-Delco 400 with a one-point lead, now trails Hendrick Motorsports teammate Terry Labonte by 32 with two races remaining. "For being put in that position, I thought we did a pretty good job," Gordon said evenly.

"For some reason, we couldn't get the car to work well that one time today. I don't know if we guessed on the tires wrong, but this is one of Uie hardest races I've had to run. We got behind on that one set and it was just really, really tough to make it back. "We had a good enough car for the top five," he added. "It's kind of frustrating when those things happen.

I thought we did a pretty good job for what we had happen. It could have been worse." Asked about going Into Phoenix next Sunday trailing Labonte by NOTEBOOK those 32 points, Gordon, who led his teammate by 111 just two races ago, said, "That's a blink of an eye. I like the cushion we had going in a little better, but 32 points is nothing." Wlnless streak Dale Earnhardt finished ninth Sunday and has now gone 25 races without a victory, his longest win-less string since joining Richard Childress Racing in 1984. Earnhardt, who remained fourth in the standings and now trails Labonte by 216 points, led 87 laps during Uie first half of the race. "The car got loose," Uie seven-time series champion explained.

"I don't know why. We were good right in the center of the race, then the car got away. "We kept adjusting air pressure and it never helped anything," Earnhardt added. "If anything, we hurt it every time. It was getting worse every time.

We held on for a.