Delasin’s Extra Effort Enough

Rookie Dorothy Delasin, 19 and competing without a sponsor, became the youngest player to win an LPGA event in 25 years when she defeated Pat Hurst in a playoff Sunday.

The 1999 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion birdied the last hole of regulation to get into a playoff, then won with a par on the second extra hole of the Giant Eagle Classic at Howland, Ohio.

Delasin, of Daly City, Calif., earned her first top-10 finish and is the youngest winner on the tour since Amy Alcott took the Orange Blossom Classic in 1975.

Delasin collected $150,000--almost $30,000 more than she had won in her first 18 tournaments combined.

“This is like a really big steppingstone,” she said. “I came from way down here and I jumped 10 steps.”

Hurst narrowly missed her 10-foot par putt, catching the lip as the ball sped past on the left side on the decisive hole.

Delasin, who had rounds of 71, 67 and 67 to finish at 11-under 205, began the day tied for seventh.

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Bruce Fleisher set a record at the Long Island Classic for the third consecutive day, this time defending his title with an 18-under-par 198 total for a two-stroke victory at Jericho, N.Y.

Fleisher set the course record with a 63 in the opening round, and his 36-hole total of 15-under 129 was another record in the Senior PGA Tour event. His three-under 69 Sunday gave him the tournament record, breaking Lee Trevino’s 200 total in 1994.

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Ireland’s Christy O’Connor Jr. became the first defending champion to win the Senior British Open, shooting a final-round 68 to again defeat South Africa’s John Bland by two strokes at Newcastle, Northern Ireland.

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Michael Clark held a one-stroke lead in the final round of the John Deere Classic at Silvis, Ill., when heavy rain forced players off the course, postponing play until today. Uncompleted rounds were scheduled to begin today at 6:30 a.m. PDT. PGA officials said 46 players completed their final rounds, leaving 27 on the course--including almost all the leaders.

Up Next

This week’s schedule for golf’s major tours:

* PGA: Thursday/Sunday--The International, Castle Pines G.C., Castle Rock, Colo.

* LPGA: Thursday/Sunday--Michelob Light Classic, Fox Run G.C., St. Louis.

* SENIOR PGA: Friday/Sunday--Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic, Bunker Hills G.C., Coon Rapids, Minn.