Stewart Receives Gift of $120,000 at Skins : Golf: His foes miss short putts to open door for 1991 U.S. Open champion. He earns $220,000 overall.

By MAL FLORENCE

Nov. 30, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PALM DESERT — Payne Stewart said he got an early Christmas present in the 10th annual Skins Game at Bighorn Golf Club on Sunday.

He made a three-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole, the par-three, 171-yard 17th, to repeat his Skins victory of last year in a most improbable fashion.

There was a $120,000 carryover to the sudden-death playoff hole. Stewart, Fred Couples, Greg Norman and Tom Kite all hit nearly perfect tee shots to the hole; Kite was the farthest away from the cup, and that was only eight feet. Norman had a four-foot putt for birdie and Couples and Stewart were in the three-foot range.

At least two of the players appeared set to birdie the hole, extending the playoff.

It didn’t happen.

Kite missed. So did Norman. Couples’ putt nicked the hole and spun out.

Stewart, the least successful player of the four on the PGA Tour the past year, made his putt. And, with his $120,000 earnings on that hole, emerged the Skins winner with a total of $220,000 after making only $30,000 on nine holes Saturday.

Couples, who made $130,000 Saturday, was the runner-up with $210,000, while Norman earned $110,000. Kite, the U.S. Open champion, was shut out.

“I was in shock. I figured all four of us would play the 18th hole,” said Stewart, last year’s U.S. Open champion. “Then, when they all missed, I thought, ‘Wow, is this like Christmas early, or what?’

“It’s preposterous. You couldn’t get those odds in Vegas.

“Now I know where I’m going to spend Thanksgiving next year.”

Stewart didn’t win a tournament on the tour this year and was 44th on the money list with $334,738.

Last year, at PGA West, Stewart hadn’t won a skin until he sank a three-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole that was worth $260,000.

It was a disappointing outing for Kite, golf’s all-time leading money winner, who became the fifth player to be shut out in Skins competition.

Jack Nicklaus was shut out in 1986 and last year. Also shut out were Arnold Palmer (1984, ‘87), Gary Player (1984) and Curtis Strange (1988).

“I think we all ought to chip in and buy T.K. (Kite) something for Christmas,” Norman joked.

“I wasn’t ready to be shut out, that’s for sure,” Kite said. “I didn’t perform well on this golf course, where birdies are going to be flying like crazy.

“I don’t build my game around events like this. But it’s a lot of fun, and all the guys are friends of mine.”

There was a $30,000 carryover from Saturday. No one got a skin on the 10th hole, so the 11th hole, a par three measuring 197 yards, was worth $90,000.

Norman got a skin there with an 18-foot birdie putt as Kite and Stewart failed on birdie putts of 15 and 20 feet, respectively.

On the 12th hole, a par five, Norman missed a 12-foot putt for an eagle and settled for birdie, which was matched by Stewart and Kite.

“The birdies I made were covered up by the other guys,” Kite said.

Stewart got a skin on the par-four 13th hole worth $70,000 with a 15-foot birdie putt as Norman and Couples missed birdie attempts from 20 and 12 feet.

No one got a skin at No. 14. Couples then earned $80,000 with a 25-foot eagle putt at the par-five 15th hole.

There were no skins through the next three holes, setting up the playoff and Stewart’s big payoff.