Mayfair deprives Woods of victory in hometown

Tuesday, March 3, 1998 | 10:01 a.m.

Tiger Woods has played extremely well this year. His only problem is that someone always has played better.

Woods seemed on his way to a hometown victory in the Nissan Open Sunday when he birdied three of the last four holes, including a scrambling birdie on No. 18 that ended when he curled in a tricky 12-foot putt.

The packed gallery around the green erupted in cheers and Woods joyfully pumped his right arm.

Then Billy Mayfair, who had been sort of plodding along, came up the 18th fairway, hit a great shot out of the bunker in front of the green, and rolled in his 5-foot putt for a birdie to tie Woods at 12-under.

Some 20 minutes later, Mayfair sank another birdie putt on the same green, this time from 4 feet, to beat Woods in their playoff.

Woods, who said earlier in the tournament that he was kind of "bummed out" by the fact he hadn't won this year, has finished second twice and third once in as many tour events. His only win came in Thailand.

He shot a closing 5-under-par 66 in the final round at Valencia Country Club, but Mayfair, who had been in a two-year slump, refused to go away. The leader the first two days, Mayfair shot a 67 to send the event into overtime.

Woods essentially lost his chance to win when his chip from 40 yards skipped 18 feet beyond the hole in the playoff after Mayfair had hit to within 4 feet of the cup.

Woods, whose most recent tour victory was last July, was disappointed by the outcome, but not by the way he played.

Asked if he would reflect on "letting this one get away," Woods shot back: "I don't see it as getting away from me. I was right there. I made some good putts, hit some good shots. And I had a chance on the first playoff hole. I played really solid golf.

"Billy played great, played steady golf."

In a women's golf tournament:

Karrie Webb finally got cooking at home. The 23-year-old star won her first professional title in her native Australia on Sunday, holding off Swedish rival Annika Sorenstam for a five-stroke victory in the Australian Ladies Masters. "I think this is the happiest day of my life. I would definitely say this is my biggest win," said Webb, who closed with a 2-under-par 70. "Now that I've got this one under my belt, I think I can take a few easier breaths when I come back to Australia to play. This was one hurdle I had to get over." Webb, who earned $105,000 for her eighth LPGA victory, shot a Royal Pines-record 64 on Saturday en route to a 16-under 272 total. Sorenstam and South Korea's Park Hyun-soon tied for second. "I felt if I got a good early start it would make her think about the shots as they disappeared," said Sorenstam, who closed with a 70. "I gave it all I had, but I ran out of steam." "Karrie shot 16-under and to do that you have to make a lot of putts. My putter wasn't as hot as I would like. Karrie played great golf today."

Sampras loves Philadelphia

As a 16-year-old kid, Pete Sampras played in his very first ATP Tour event in Philadelphia. A decade later, the oldest U.S. indoor tournament holds a special place in the storied career of the world's top tennis player. He won his first professional tournament crown in Philly in 1990, returned to the final five more times and took home the title in 1992, 1997 and this year. But he fears his 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) win Sunday over third-seeded Thomas Enqvist in the Advanta Championships could be his last. "Six, seven years ago when I was playing here, it was packed," Sampras said. This year, he was the only player ranked in the top 20 and crowds have plummeted 22 percent. "If the people aren't going to support it, there's no reason for it to stay here. "This could be my last match here," said Sampras, who won $110,000. Jim Courier said the same thing after he lost this week, saying he would "bet against" the tournament returning.

In a women's tournament:

Her third trip to a title match turned out to be the charm for 17-year-old Venus Williams. "I was more ready for the situation of being in the finals this time," Williams said after capturing her first professional singles title, the IGA Tennis Classic sunday in Oklahoma City. "The first time (vs. martina Hingis), I had never been in the finals before. Then in Sydney, I was tired and could not get my feet to go. This is one I will probably always remember. I can say it all started back in Oklahoma City." With three service breaks in each set, the hard-hitting Williams defeated South Africa's Joannette Kruger 6-3, 6-2. Then, following a 30-minute break, she joined her sister Serena as they captured their first Corel WTA Tour doubles crown by beating Catalina Cristea of Romania and Kristine Kunce of Australia 7-5, 6-2.

No one could blame Tisha Waller if she had an extra bounce in her step today when she checked in for another day of teaching at an elementary school in the Atlanta suburbs. She has two careers -- teaching fifth-graders at Livsey Elementary in Tucker and high jumping. Her achievements in both are impressive. Last year she was chosen teacher of the year at Livsey when she was teaching kindergarten. Now she holds the American record in her track specialty -- achieving it Saturday in the USA Indoor Championships when she cleared the bar at 6 feet, 7 inches. The mark broke the nation's 16-year-old record set by Coleen Sommer at 6 3/4 on Feb. 13, 1982. "Wow, I'm the American indoor record holder," Waller said. "I'm just jumping, doing what I enjoy, and it came. It worked out. The crowd really enjoyed it." The record came before a hometown crowd in the Georgia Dome, located not too far from where Waller lives in the shadow the Olympic rings and Turner Field, site of the 1996 Olympics before being converted to a baseball stadium.