Jim Thorpe wins at third playoff hole

Maybe it was the putting tip from Lee Trevino that got Jim Thorpe on a roll.

Thorpe took his second straight Champions Tour victory Monday, hitting a 4 1/2 -foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to beat Morris Hatalsky in the Blue Angels Classic at the Moors Golf Club.

Thorpe, coming off a victory two weeks ago in the FedEx Kinko's Classic in Lakeway, Texas, said his improved play followed a phone call from Trevino at that event.

``I give Lee credit for it because he didn't have to call me,'' Thorpe said. ``My left shoulder was just too low. Basically, I couldn't rotate the shoulders. I was slapping one right and one left.''

Hatalsky and Thorpe each parred the first hole of the playoff Sunday night before play was suspended because of darkness following a pair of rain delays that totaled 4 hours, 18 minutes.

They parred the second playoff hole Monday, but Hatalsky opened the door for Thorpe's winning birdie when he hit his second shot into a bunker on the approach to the par-4 No. 18.

``When there's two warriors out there, one of us got to go down, and it was his turn to go this time,'' Thorpe said.

Thorpe forced the playoff with a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation. He closed Sunday with a 3-under 67 and Hatalsky had a 66 to complete 54 holes at 16-under 194.

``I had ample opportunities out there, and I just wasn't making putts when I needed to,'' Hatalsky said. ``I was playing really good, but I just didn't close the deal. I'm disappointed because I should have finished first.''

He had a chance to win on the second playoff hole, No. 10, but his 12-foot birdie putt was just short.

``I thought I had a line on it,'' Hatalsky said. ``I just hit it too easy.''

But he also credited Thorpe.

``He's got all the shots,'' Hatalsky said. ``He can drive the ball well. He's got great iron play. His short game is excellent. He's the whole package.''

Don Pooley (63), Fuzzy Zoeller (64), Peter Jacobsen (65) and Tom Jenkins (66) tied for third at 13 under. Craig Stadler, tied for ninth after matching the tour record with a second-round 60, shot a 70 to tie for ninth at 11 under.

When tournament officials handed Thorpe his $225,000 check for winning, he noted that he donated the $247,500 he earned from his victory in Texas to the Community Crossing Church in Heathrow, Fla., his hometown.

``It seems like since then I sleep better at night, I wake up early in the morning, my food taste better,'' Thorpe said.

But then he added, ``I think the wife might hold on to this one a little bit.''

Darkness forces Monday playoff

Jim Thorpe and Morris Hatalsky parred the first hole of a playoff Sunday night before play was suspended because of darkness in the Champions Tour's Blue Angels Classic.

They are scheduled to resume play at 8 a.m. CDT Monday.

"Right now we need some headlights,'' Hatalsky said. "We need the cars all around this green in order to see what was going on.''

Thorpe, coming off a victory two weeks ago in the FedEx Kinko's Classic in Lakeway, Texas, forced the playoff with a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation.

Thorpe closed with a 3-under 67 and Hatalsky had a 66 to complete 54 holes at 16-under 194 on the Moors Golf Club course. Two rain delays -- for a total of 4 hours, 18 minutes -- left time for only one extra hole in near darkness.

"The weather conditions got very, very tough for us,'' said Thorpe, who played alongside Hatalsky in the final round. "We talked about it early today, 'Let's just try to separate ourselves from the field.'''

Don Pooley (63), Fuzzy Zoeller (64), Peter Jacobsen (65) and Tom Jenkins (66) tied for third at 13-under. Craig Stadler, tied for third after matching the tour record with a second-round 60, shot a 70 to tie for ninth at 11-under.

Hatalsky and Thorpe each had late chances to win.

Hatalsky missed a birdie putt for the victory by a couple inches on the final hole of regulation, and Thorpe's birdie putt on the first extra hole -- also the 18th -- stopped just short of the hole.

Hatalsky, in the top 10 for the fourth straight tournament, had a two-stroke lead after 14 holes. Thorpe birdied No. 16 to cut the lead to one and pulled even with a par on No. 16 after Hatalsky bogeyed the hole. Hatalsky rebounded with a birdie on the 17th, and Thorpe forced the playoff with his birdie on the 18th.

Thorpe, seeking his 11th Champions Tour title, is 2-1 in playoffs on the 50-and-over tour after losing his lone playoff on the PGA Tour. Hatalsky, 2-1 in extra holes on the PGA Tour, is in his first playoff on the Champions Tour.

The tour's single-round scoring record fell for the third straight day when the field averaged 68.051 Sunday. The 54-hole scoring average of 68.175 also was a record, breaking the mark of 69.442 set in the 1997 tournament.

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