Golf Roundup : Hulbert Makes Winning Putt Short and Sweet

Mike Hulbert sank a one-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to beat his boyhood friend Joey Sindelar by one stroke Sunday in the $605,912 Federal Express St. Jude tournament at Memphis, Tenn.

Hulbert, one of four golfers tied for the lead entering Sunday’s play, shot a three-under-par 69 in the final round for a 72-hole total of 280.

“It was nice and short,� Hulbert said of the putt that brought him the $105,912 first prize. “It felt fine, and I could see Joey in the background and he was happy as a lark--and then it was over. I still can’t believe it.�

Sindelar, who started the final round two strokes behind the leaders, had a final-round 68 and led the tournament at seven under until Hulbert birdied the 16th hole to tie for the lead. Hulbert had four birdies and two bogeys Sunday,

On the par-5 18th, as Sindelar waited near the green for what appeared to be a playoff, Hulbert hit his second shot into the rough on the right side of the fairway, about 125 yards from the pin.

His third shot hit the green and rolled to within 12 inches of the hole. Hulbert had to wait until his playing partners, Gary Koch and Larry Nelson, holed out to sink the birdie putt.

“When it’s your turn to win, I guess it’s your turn to win,� Hulbert said of his first PGA Tour victory.

The 28-year-old Orlando, Fla., golfer grew up with Sindelar in Horseheads, N.Y., and they have been playing golf together since the age of 10.

The two roomed together this week during the tournament.

“I know all the folks at home are excited because they’ve been waiting for us to do something on the tour,� Sindelar said.

Payne Stewart finished third after making a birdie putt on No. 18 to go six under par with a final-round 70. Nelson finished at five under, while Larry Mize and Koch were another stroke back.

Hulbert, a 1980 All-American at East Tennessee State, joined the PGA Tour in 1985, but he lost his player card last year after winning only $18,368.

He returned to the qualifying tournament this year to earn a spot on the tour again. So far this year, he has won $250,131.

Lauri Peterson shot a seven-under-par 65 to tie Cathy Kratzert for the second-round lead of the LPGA’s $200,000 Rail Charity tournament at Springfield, Ill.

Peterson recorded eight birdies in the round to tie her personal best score in an LPGA event. Her two-round total was a nine-under 135. Kratzert shot a 70 Sunday after an opening-round 65.

Gene Littler, forced into a playoff with Miller Barber and Bob Goalby when he missed a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, sank an eight-foot putt for a par on the third extra hole to win the $200,000 Bank One PGA Seniors tournament at Lexington, Ky.

Littler, Barber and Goalby each finished the three-day tournament with a 12-under-par 201 over the par-71, 6,640-yard Griffin Gate Golf Course. Littler had a final 67, Barber and Goalby 68s.

Goalby dropped out of the playoff when he bogeyed the first hole. After Littler and Barber halved the second hole with pars, each drove into greenside bunkers on the third hole, the 205-yard, par-3 17th. Each blasted onto the green, but the tournament ended when Littler sank his putt and Barber missed.

West Germany’s Bernhard Langer birdied the fifth extra hole to beat Australia’s Rodger Davis in the $250,000 German Open at Duesseldorf, West Germany. Davis lost despite shooting a record eight-under-par 64 on the final round.

Langer closed with a 67, matching Davis’ 72-hole total of 273 and forcing the playoff. Davis had a chance to win on the final regulation hole, but missed a 16-foot putt.