Olin Browne - on the gravy train

The day after he turned 40, Olin Browne wore a plaid jacket and a smile as big as Texas.

By winning the Colonial, his name will be engraved on the Wall of Champions along with some of the greatest players in the game, from Ben Hogan to Sam Snead, from Jack Nicklaus to Tom Watson.

And since the Colonial always wanted to be like the Masters, it invites past champions to play for as long as they live. Augusta has Doug Ford, Colonial has Rod Curl.

Better yet, Browne will get his own parking place next year.

"My old man would say I backed ... into a tub of butter," Browne said. "It doesn't get any better than this."

The face of golf is getting younger by the week.

Tiger Woods, 23, won in Germany for his 11th professional victory. David Duval is 27 and already has won four times this year on the PGA Tour. Phil Mickelson turns 28 next month and is trying to make it seven straight years with at least one victory. Sergio Garcia is the next boy wonder, and he doesn't even have a driver's license.

The last two weeks in Texas was another reminder how few people can appreciate life -- and winning -- on the PGA Tour as much as the late bloomers.

Loren Roberts, 43, won the Byron Nelson Classic for his sixth career victory. His first victory was at Bay Hill in 1994, when Roberts was 38 -- a nice reward for a player who used to make pimiento cheese sandwiches while working as a head pro in California.

Browne's only other victory came last year in Hartford when he was 39.

"Golf is the one athletic endeavor where you're not washed up by the time you're 35," he said. "There are some great baseball players that hang on past that, an occasional football players like Warren Moon. I'm very fortunate to play a game that allows me to continue my professional career at a late stage in my life."

Tom Lehman knows the feeling. He bounced around the globe trying to find his place in the game. He won for the first time at 35, and two years later was the PGA Tour player of the year after winning the British Open and Claret Jug.

Calvin Peete was a high school dropout who once sold goods to migrant farm workers from the back of his station wagon and didn't learn to play golf until he was 23. He won his first tournament at 36, added 11 more victories and played on two Ryder Cup teams.

Lorie Kane is a 34-year-old Canadian with a smile so infectious it's hard to believe she has never won on the LPGA Tour. Kane, who worked for Moosehead Brewery to pay for her golf when she was an amateur, didn't turn pro until she was 29.

Last year, she played 32 out of 35 tournaments for which she was eligible and finished 12th on the money list with $504,000.

"I'm just so excited to be here," she said. ``I don't take any of what I have for granted -- not that the younger players do, but they came around in a different way. To be where I am now surprises myself. I can't believe it's 1999 and I've been on this great tour since '96."

There are times Browne is surprised to even be playing himself.

He didn't even start playing until after high school, when he took a job in the bag room of a golf club and got hooked. Even then, he enrolled at Occidental College in Los Angeles with the idea of becoming a marine biologist.

"I hit biochemistry and said enough of that," Browne said.

Not that his next career choice was any easier.

Browne turned professional in 1984 and didn't make it to the PGA Tour for eight years. He got to the finals of qualifying school 10 times, but erned his card only once. He spent four full seasons on the Nike Tour and earned his promotion to the big tour twice -- both times, he couldn't keep his card.

"It's nice to be a late developer," Browne said. ``I started playing golf in college, so I feel like I'm 10 years behind. Maybe I'm just hitting my stride."

His victory made him eligible for the season-opening Mercedes Championship in Hawaii. Browne had to skip it last year because of surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left elbow. He also moved up to No. 53 in the world rankings, a step toward qualifying for some of the $5 million World Golf Championship events.

"I feel really fortunate right now," he said. ``This is a great way to earn a living. It's trying, there's a lot of stress involved, but it's a game. And it's a privilege to be able to play the game."

AP