GOLF ROUNDUP : Mickelson Wins Third NCAA Title

Phil Mickelson, the Arizona State left-hander whose putter ran on empty all day, needed a stiff seven-iron and an assist from a tricky wind for his third NCAA golf title.

The iron shot on the par-four eighth hole came to rest 12 inches from the cup and gave Mickelson the first of only two birdies in a round of two-over 74 at Saturday’s final round of the NCAA Championships at Albuquerque.

Mickelson, a USDHS graduate who started with a nine-shot lead over Arizona’s Harry Rudolph, survived a mild charge from the former La Jolla standout by parring the final seven holes.

Mickelson finished at 271, 17 under par for 72 holes and became only the second golfer in NCAA history to win three national titles. Ben Crenshaw was the first while playing for Texas in the early ‘70s.

“I was nervous starting out,” said Mickelson, who began the round by four-putting the par-four first hole from 12 feet for a double-bogey six. “I was finally able to stabilize it, but nothing really fell for me today. It seemed like I was trying to force it all day.”

Rudolph got within four shots of Mickelson after he eagled the 550-yard, par-five 10th hole. But Rudolph bogeyed three of the next four holes, twice miscalculating the wind on the 7,246-yard Championship Course at the University of New Mexico.

“After the first couple of holes I knew I had a chance,” Rudolph said. “He just wasn’t putting the way he usually does. But after I bogeyed 12, I knew I was done. From there I just tried to concentrate on helping the team.”

Arizona, led by Rudolph and Mickelson’s former USDHS teammate, Manny Zerman, who finished third, captured its first national title. The Wildcats finished at 1,129, seven shots better than Arizona State’s 1,136.

Rudolph was second with a final round of par 72 and 278 total. Zerman, with a 70 Saturday, finished at 279.

Mickelson’s 72-hole total of 17-under-par 271 tied the tournament record set by John Inman of North Carolina in 1984. He missed a 10-foot putt for birdie on the par-five final hole that would have given him the record.

Joey Sindelar takes a three-shot lead into today’s final round of the $1.3-million Memorial tournament at Dublin, Ohio.

Sindelar, on a slide since winning two tournaments and more than $800,000 in 1988, shot a five-under-par 67 on Jack Nicklaus’ storm-ravaged Muirfield Village Golf Club. He completed three rounds in 201, 15 under par and three strokes ahead of Jeff Maggert and Mark Brooks.

J.C. Snead and Lee Trevino share the lead after two rounds of the PaineWebber Invitational seniors tournament at Charlotte, N.C.

Brandie Burton, 20, shot a course-record eight-under-par 63 to share the lead with Japan’s Ayako Okamoto after two rounds of the LPGA McDonald’s Classic at Wilmington, Del.