| Cromwell,
Conn, 5th July 1998 -
Olin Browne made a 40-foot chip-in birdie on the first playoff
hole today to beat Larry Mize and defending champion Stewart Cink and win the
Canon Greater Hartford Open for his first PGA Tour victory. The
playoff followed the stunning collapse of Mize, who had a four-stroke lead going
to the 15th hole after stringing together birdies on Nos. 11-14 to stand at 18-under
par. But on
the par-4, 296-yard 15th, he shanked a 5-iron deep into the woods and, after several
minutes of searching, found his unplayable ball and had to tee it up again. He
took a double bogey on that hole and missed a 1-foot par putt on No. 16. By
the time he reached the final hole, the 1987 Masters champion was clinging to
a one-stroke lead over Browne and Cink. But his approach shot rolled off the back
of the green and his chip left him with about a 15-foot putt that he narrowly
missed for par and a 1-under 69. Despite
his swoon, Mize maintained a bit of optimism as he, Browne and Cink all set the
GHO 72-hole scoring record of 14-under 266. "I've
had a lot of good breaks in my time, and you know this one didn't work out my
way. But this week encourages me to just keep working hard,'' Mize said. Browne,
who became the sixth first-time winner on tour this year, finished with a 67 that
was marked by four birdies and a double bogey on the 462-yard, par-4 10th. His
birdie at No. 16 put him 14 under and in contention for the playoff. "I
had a good week and I played well all four days and I think that's what it takes.
You can't have a skittish round out here, the guys are so good,'' he said. Cink,
who also shot a 67, was 13-under when he birdied the signature 17th hole to reserve
his spot for the playoff. His
approach shot on the 444-yard, par-4 18th, which was used as the playoff hole,
rolled across the green and into the left fringe about pin high. Mize reached
the green in three and could only watch at that point. Cink, bidding to become
the first repeat GHO winner, had an opportunity to tie but his 15-foot birdie
putt rolled wide. Browne
won $360,000 to increase his career earnings to $1,196,817. A
third-round co-leader, Mize began the day at 13-under, tied with Scott Hoch and
Grant Waite. Duffy
Waldorf and Fred Funk had final-round 66s and finished at 267, tied with Doug
Tewell, who had a 67, and one shot out of the playoff. Hoch had a 71 and finished
tied with David Duval, who had a 69, at 268. Waite shot a 75 and finished at 272.
Vijay Singh
shot a 62 today to tie the course record and finish 10-under. His 28 on the back
nine broke the record of 29 set in 1995 by Fuzzy Zoeller and Mike Brisky. Singh's
round included six birdies and an eagle on the par-5 13th. He said he got his
putter going just in time for the British Open, which begins July 16. "This
is something good to take away with me and hopefully I can just continue where
I left off today,'' Singh said. | 
