Alcott Makes a Big Splash at Dinah Shore : Women’s golf: Not-so-impromptu swim with tournament host and caddie follows final-round 68, eight-stroke victory.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. —  The only suspense of the final round of the 20th annual Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament was whether Amy Alcott would jump into the water after she won, dragging Dinah with her.

As for the last 18 holes, it was a relatively easy walk in the sun for Alcott, who won by eight strokes Sunday and broke her own tournament record with a 72-hole score of 15-under-par 273.

To end the suspense, Alcott, her caddie, Bill Kurre, and Dinah Shore linked arms and went into the lake bordering the 18th green.

So, it was Water Jump II for Alcott, who got wet when she won at Mission Hills Country Club in 1988.

“I can tell you in all honesty that I wasn’t going to jump in the water this time,” Alcott said. “The win meant so much to me that I was going to accept the trophy with dignity.

“But Dinah walked over to the 18th green and said, ‘I’ve got my bathrobe and I’m ready to go.’ She coaxed me into it.

“I was a little scared when we were running because my caddie, Bill, tends to run faster and Dinah is no spring chicken and neither am I. I figured someone would break an ankle.

“No matter where you go, people remember you for something like this. We’re in show business.”

Shore disputed Alcott’s claim that it was her idea for the water trip.

“Amy issued a challenge two years ago,” she said. “I told her, ‘If you win again I’ll go in with you.’ Promises are promises. It was by mutual consent.

“I haven’t been able to sleep for a couple of nights thinking about it.”

The consensus of the water jumpers was that the footing was cold and squishy.

Kurre said the big splash was Shore’s idea. Then, he shrugged and said, “After all, it’s her tournament.”

Alcott became the first three-time winner of the tournament. She had previously won in 1983 and 1988.

She began the day with a seven-stroke lead and, by making a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th green, she shot a four-under-par 68.

It was her fourth sub-par round, and no one made a serious run at her Sunday.

Dottie Mochrie, who finished second at seven under par, said she thought she had a chance when she birdied the first two holes.

“If she (Alcott) got off to a shaky start, it would have sent waves throughout the field,” Mochrie said.

However, Alcott birdied the second hole, got her only bogey on the par-four, 409-yard third hole, then added two more birdies on her front nine. After that, she was on cruise control.

Alcott’s winner’s check was for $90,000. She said she is building a swimming pool, and the money certainly will help.

“Winning this tournament in my own back yard is very special to me,” said Alcott, who dedicated the victory to her mother, who died last year. “I grew up in Southern California. My roots are here.”

She had said that she intended to be aggressive and not play cautiously, which isn’t her style.

Someone asked her if she has ever had an easier 18 holes.

“I’ve never had an easy 18 holes in the final round,” Alcott said.

“Winning a tournament is a love-hate relationship. No matter how confident you are in your game, there is a element of control you have to have over yourself--staying focused. And that takes a lot out of you.

“I was a little nervous, but I got in a groove and became a little bit more confident, so I said, ‘Let’s try to win it by 15.’ But I’d take a one-stroke win.”

Alcott, 35, who has 29 wins on the tour, one shy of admittance to the LPGA Hall of Fame, didn’t win last year.

However, she’s confident again.

“I feel I’ve got 20 or 30 more wins in me. And, personally, I feel I’m in the Hall of Fame,” Alcott said.