Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 17

ff i wers in playo anes oea ts Top finishers Bob Charles 74-68-67-73282 Greg Powers 70-70-70-72282 Mark 69-75-71-68283 Kenny Knox Hubert Green 70-73-71-70284 Allen Miller 68-74-70-72284 Mike Morley 72-68-70-74284 won sudden-death playoff. Powers, playing one group ahead of Charles, also birdied 17 and paired 18. On the first hole of sudden death, Powers hit a drive down the middle of the fairway and then pushed an iron shot to the back-left edge of the green, just in the rough. Charles hit his drive behind a sand trap in the left of the fairway and hit up to the front-left edge of the green about 50 feet from the pin. Charles stepped up, gave the ball a smack and walked away a winner.

"I was a little disappointed in the second shot and, on the putt, I was just trying to get it close really," Charles said, "but it went straight as an arrow right in the hole." Powers still had a chance to tie Charles, "Gary called me this morning from South Africa and asked me to bring back a sweater he had left," Charles said. Wait until Gary sees what else Charles brings back. It was the first tournament victory in three years for the left-handed Charles and his first win in the United States since the 1974 Greensboro Open. Charles, who also has a home in Christchurch, New Zealand, plays the majority of his tournaments in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. He had bogeyed the par-4 16th hole and birdied the par-5 17th hole before parring the par-4 18th hole and setting up the playoff with Powers, with both tied at 282.

The winning total (6 under par) is the highest for the Talla- but Powers would have had to sink his 25-foot chip shot. "Even after he made the putt, I had a perfect lie for the chip and I had visions of it going in, but it was two inches off," Powers said. "I kind of felt a little dejected to say the least. Before his putt, I figured to chip close, make a putt and go on to No. 2.

"But you just don't expect somebody to haul in a 50-footer." In posting rounds of 74-68-67-73, Charles made some spectacular putts, some for eagles, one for a tournament winner and some vjust to save par. On par-4 No. 4, commonly called "the Green Monster," Charles got into trouble early and then put his third shot on the Please see OPEN, page 7B By PAUL C. SMITH Democrat sportswriter The 15th edition of the Tallahassee Open ended just the way many local golf fans had hoped: with a local favorite battling a South African, clad in black, down to the last hole. Tallahasseean Greg Powers appropriately filled the role of the local favorite, but Bob Charles, who resides in Johannesburg, South Africa, took the other lead part away from another South African, who also dresses in black Gary Player.

While Player missed the cut and flew right back home, Charles tied Powers on the 18th hole of the final round and beat him with a 50-foot putt on the first hole of sudden death to win the $36,000 first prize. hassee Open since Chuck Courtney won at 282 in 1969. Cn CTirainiir Wind blew too hard for Powers Charles struck blow for lefties i wv At By PAUL C. SMITH Democrat sportswriter The wind blew equally hard on everyone at the Kil-learn Golf Club Sunday, but Tallahassee resident Greg Powers probably felt it more than anyone else on the course. Powers is the type of player who is strong enough to reach just about every green in regulation and then rely on his superb putting to make his money.

But, after losing the Tallahassee Open to Bob Charles on the first hole of sudden death, Powers realized that the wind Sunday simply blew him off course. He missed nearly half the greens and many of his tee shots sailed high and floated to the sides of the fairways. "The conditions really made club selection difficult," Powers said of the 45-50 mph winds. "You'd grab one club, take a couple of practice swings and then ask for another because the wind picked up." After scoring a birdie on the first hole of the day and a bogey on the fourth hole, Powers put his second shot on the par-5 5th hole 25 feet to the left of the green. The crowd backed away, the ropes were dropped and Powers rolled his chip shot to within 3 feet of the pin.

He sank his birdie putt but couldn't manage any others on the front side, so he made the turn at 1 under par. He missed a couple of short putts on Nos. 12 and 13 and by the time he teed it up at No. 15, there was a crowd of close scores on the leader board. Powers hit another long drive on No.

15, but it faded left and landed behind some trees. He had to pull another great iron out of his bag, and he did hit it on the green, but he missed a 4-foot putt for par. On No. 16, he hit his second shot left of the green and had to rely on his sharp chipping to get him 8 feet from the hole. From there he sank the putt for par.

Powers said he had looked at the leader board only once all day, at the ninth hole, and wasn't interested in knowing where he was in relation to the other players. "I said to my caddy, 'Chico, don't tell me where I I was afraid I'd get caught up in their game, not mine," Powers said. "It wasn't until the 17th hole that I realized that I was one shot back. "And then I knew I needed a birdie there." Powers hit a good drive on No. 17, a par five, but his second shot went over thegreen.

He chipped to within 18 inches of the hole and made the putt for a birdie. While Powers was hitting his tee shot on No. 18, Charles was (Please see POWERS, page 7B) By GERALD ENSLEY Democrat sportswriter Power to the left-handers, right on. That sort of thought, Bob Charles said with a smile, was running through his mind Sunday as he survived a wind-whipping to win the 15th Tallahassee Open in a playoff with Greg Powers. "After (Saturday), I was kind of thinking about how a left-hander (Russ Cochran) won two weeks ago at Magnolia," said Charles, who had forged to within one stroke of the lead in the third round.

"When we started off (Sunday), I told my caddy, Russ Stieb, 'Let's make it two in a row for the And in capturing the Tallahassee Open, Charles did indeed make it two straight victories for left-handers in the PGA's Tournament Players Series, the "second series" of 10 tournaments created this year. But if Charles' victory was a triumph for southpaws, it was also a moral victory for aging golfers. In 1980 and '81, Charles, a former British Open winner who has won more than $500,000 on the PGA tour, forsook the American tour to concentrate on tournaments in Europe, Australia and his native New Zealand. Success sixth on the Australia-New Zealand tour money list in those tournaments led him to try the American tour again in '82. But it was the advent of the Tournament Players Series in '83, Charles said, that has him playing in the U.S.

right now. "I'm looking forward to the Seniors (50 and over) tour in 1986. And I think this new tour will be a stepping-stone, a way to bridge the gap, for me to that (Seniors) tour," said Charles, 47, who now lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. "Statistics show that golfers between 40 and 50 aren't as competitive on the main tour as they should be. You'll see very few guys 40-50 winning tournaments.

"But this new tour can give us some competition." Charles gave 60 other golfers plenty of competition Sunday, despite his one-over-par 73. "All day, he kept hanging in there," said Vic Tortorici. Tortorici and Jeff Mitchell were the third-round leaders, and joined Charles as a threesome for the final round. "He makes that birdie on eight, and that's a tough hole. He rolled in a 40-footer for par on four, and he had to be feeling great after that.

"He just had a super round. He played the conditions. And that's the experience showing." (Please see CHARLES, page 7B) fc'iftfflr nanMiirf t' 1 Democrat photos by Mike Ewen Bob Charles misses birdie putt Greg Powers shows frustration Jordan throws for 345 yards Braves sweep New York J) Tampa Bay 13 7 0 10-30 Washington 6 0 14 3-23 TB Truvillion 28 pass from Jordan (kick failed) WAS E.Robinson 94 kickoff return (kick failed) TB Truvillion 15 pass from Jordan (An-drusvshyn kick) TB Truvillion 6 pass from Jordan (An-drusvshyn kick) WAS James 19 run (Castro kick) WAS Holmes 11 pass from Hohensee (Castro kick) WAS FG Castro 23 TB FG Andrusvshyn 31 TB Franks 18 run (Andrusvshyn kick) A 9,070 TB 31 37-130 345 176 30-45-3 0-00 2-44 5-4 8-68 35:28 Was 16 25-65 213 311 16-37-1 3-39 5-41 4-2 10-65 24:32 First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Return yards Passes Sacks by Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of Possession r. i 1 1 r. WASHINGTON (AP) Carl Franks ran 18 yards for a touchdown with 2:25 to play as the Tampa Bay Bandits defeated the Washington Federals 30-23 in a United States Football League game Sunday.

Franks, a rookie from Duke who was activated for this game, appeared to be stopped at the line, but he wriggled free and sprinted into the end zone. The victory kept Tampa Bay, 6-2, atop the Central Division of the USFL. The Federals, 1-7, are last in the Atlantic Division. Leon Williams' interception set up Tampa Bay's winning 43-yard drive. Tampa quarterback Jimmy Jordan, who threw three touchdown passes to Eric Truvillion, finished with 29 completions in 45 attempts for 345 yards.

Jordan played at FSU, and Truvillion played at FAMU. The game was played mostly in a steady rain, which was responsible for more no-shows than fans. The crowd was announced at 9,070, with 12,754 no-shows. Trailing 20-6 at halftime, the Federals scored in the opening 22 seconds of the second half on rookie Craig James' 19-yard run. It was set up by Mike Harris' 71-yard kickoff return, second longest in the USFL this season.

Mike Hohensee, who replaced starter Joe Gilliam at quarterback in the second half for the Federals, connected with Mike Holmes on an 11-yard touchdown with 7:04 left in the third quarter. Dale Castro's extra point tied the score 20-20. The scoring opened after Tampa's Alvin Bailey returned a punt 45 yards in the first quarter. Then Jordan hit Truvillion with a 28-yard touchdown pass with 6:58 to play in the period. Jordan was Tampa Bay's starting quarterback because John Reaves broke his wrist last week.

The Federals struck back when Eric Robinson broke a 94-yard kick- ATLANTA (AP) Bob Horner says he can only hope he's in another hitting groove. "I'm swinging the bat OK now, but there are so many games in a season it's tough to know when you're getting in a groove," Horner said Sunday after belting home runs in each game as the Atlanta Braves swept a twin bill from the New York Mets 6-3 and 5-3. "I hope I'm in one," he added. Horner belted a three-run homer to break a 2-2 deadlock in the opener, and he added an insurance run in the eighth inning of the nightcap with his fifth homer this year. The Braves in-fielder had a three-run homer rained out against the Mets on Saturday night.

The Braves broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning of the nightcap when Rafael Ramirez squeezed home the go-ahead run with a bunt single. "It was a safety squeeze," said Manager Joe Torre. "He's a good bunter. If the pitch wasn't there, he could have taken it. If you find other ways to win than the long ball, it's security." The sweep left Atlanta unbeaten at home (9-0) and the Mets winless on the road (0-8).

Ramirez' bunt toward third scored pinch-runner Brett Butler with the winning run in the nithcap. Butler was running for Bruce Benedict who singled to open the inning off Doug Sisk, 1-1. Steve Bedrosian's grounder went through second baseman Brian Giles, allowing Butler to race to third. The Mets tied the nightcap in the seventh when Bedrosian, 2-1, loaded the bases on two walks and a single by Ron Gardenhire. The run scored when Danny Heep grounded into a double play.

Dale Murphy lined his third homer (Please tee BRAVES, page 4B) 7 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Tampa Bay, Platl 22-71, Franks 8-43, Holmes 5-15, Jordan 1-1, Koonce 1-0. Washington, James 15-60, Taylor 7-6, Hohensee 2-0, Gilliam 1-minus 1. PASSING Tampa Bay, Jordan 30-45-345-3 Washington, Gilliam 8-15-107-0, Hohensee 8-22-106-1. RECEIVING Tampa Bay Truvillion 9-113, Buggs 7-103, Piatt 7-49, Gillespie 3-51, Gilbert 3-24, Franks 1-5. Washington, Walters 7-85, Holmes 3-47, Harris 3-41, Taylor 2-20, Rogusky 1-20.

MISSED FIELD GOALS Tampa Bay, Andrusvshyn 47. Washington, Castro 45. Photo by Dan Stainor FSU's Mike Yastrzemski slides into second as Denis Gourgeot is too late to make tag Memphis State avoids sweep off return for a touchdown. After receiving the kick on his 6, Robinson ran untouched down the left sideline. It was the longest kickoff return in the USFL this season and the first for a touchdown.

Jordan, who had completed only 14 passes in the Bandits' first seven games, threw his second TD strike to Truvillion, a 15-yarder with 3:04 left in the first quarter. It completed a 67-yard touchdown drive in seven plays. By KATY WILLIAMS Democrat ipom writer This was looking like a fun weekend for Florida State's baseballers they had taken a doubleheader from Memphis State Saturday, after all. And Sunday, well, that was sophomore pitcher Steve Gelmine's birthday and reason enough for a Bellygram that danced along the third-base line while he and his teammates watched from the dugout. Then the fun that stretched back 14 wins ended.

Florida State and its bats had gotten the better of Memphis State Saturday, but the Tigers and their pitchers, Tim Corder in particular, got the best of Seminole baseball Sunday. Memphis State, which had lost 17-0 and 2-1 in the doubleheader between the Metro Conference rivals, salvaged the three-game series at Seminole Stadium by holding off FSU 7-6. Corder, the very pitcher who had irritated both Semi-' nole players and fans by strutting and shaking his fist during a victory over FSU in the Metro Conference tournament a year ago, marked his return with an ever-effective performance that didn't even approach cocky. In fact, when Corder left the game in the eighth inning after taking one of Steve Givens' hits in the shin, Seminole fans gave him a standing ovation. (Please see FSU, page 4B i fci rr fcjf I i ih ii i n-fr.