The Week Feb. 23-March 1

A Million to One Shot

How did I get here? Andrew Magee advanced in the first round of
the World Match Play without making a birdie. Jeff Maggert
trailed at the half in his last three matches. By the time
Maggert hit his $1 million chip to win a final that was as close
as the alphabetical order of the contestants, we had learned
something worth remembering at September's Ryder Cup: In match
play it matters not if you're Mr. Magnificent or Mr. Magoo. On
second thought, bet on Magoo.

PGA Gabriel Hjertstedt (YET-stet), who beat Tommy Armour III on
the first hole of a playoff at the Tucson Open, is the Tour's
only two-time winner from Sweden, although he learned to play in
Queensland, Australia, where his family moved when he was 11.
Hjertstedt's first win, in the '97 B.C. Open, also came while
the world's best players were otherwise occupied, at the Ryder
Cup....

Corey Pavin's tie for seventh was his best finish on the Tour
since he won the '96 Colonial....

While Steve Lowery was playing the final round in Tucson, a fire
destroyed his house in Orlando....

Maggert, who before Sunday had only one victory, at the '93 Walt
Disney Classic, in his 21 top three finishes, earned 150 Ryder
Cup points to jump to No. 6 on the list, plus a three-year Tour
exemption....

Although the $100,000 Bank of America King of the (West Coast)
Swing bonus went to Tiger Woods, he wouldn't have won the award
had it been based on earnings, as it was in '98. Woods trails
Maggert by $145,873 but won more points under the new system,
which treated the nine West Coast tournaments equally.

LPGA Karrie Webb, who set the tour's four-round scoring record
at 26 under while winning the Australian Masters, is averaging
68.2 shots per round--a full stroke lower than Annika Sorenstam
in the Vare Trophy standings....

Marianne Morris, a 10-year tour veteran, left Australia before
the opening round after learning of the death of her brother,
James Michael Morris, who was found in his Atlanta golf shop
with multiple gunshot wounds.

SENIOR Allen Doyle, a five-shot winner of the ACE Group Classic
at Bay Colony Golf Club in Naples, Fla., is the first golfer to
win on both the Nike and the Senior tours....

Bruce Fleisher's two wins and a second in his first three starts
added up to a four-day trip to the hospital. He had a severe
viral infection and will be off the tour for a month. "I tried
to do too much to satisfy too many people," Fleisher says....

Gil Morgan hasn't broken 70 in his last six rounds....

Dennis Milne, playing on a sponsor's exemption, fell off a
bridge near Bay Colony's 5th hole and withdrew with a bruised
shoulder.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT BECK Missed opportunity Bob Tway might've taken Tiger's scalp last Thursday had this putt dropped on 18.

UP and Down

ESPN ABC
West Coast swing Doral-Ryder Open
Craig Stadler Colin Montgomerie
Rough at Augusta 59 at Augusta
Putt it out Pick it up