The Week Sept. 14-20

Cooking Up a Victory

The difference between Tom Watson's easy win on Sunday and his
disappointing Senior debut the week before? "The best Mexican
food ever," he says. Last Saturday night Watson and his wife,
Hilary, dined chez Byron and Peggy Nelson at their Roanoke,
Texas, ranch, feasting on a spinach, chicken and cheese
casserole, and Nelson's good vibes. "My time with Byron had a
lot to do with my win," Watson said. "There was some
spirituality working today."

PGA Brad Faxon made up five strokes on the final 18 of a 36-hole
Sunday to catch Fred Funk at the B.C. Open at En-Joie Golf Club
in Endicott, N.Y., then defeated him on the second hole of a
sudden-death playoff that spilled over into Monday.... The B.C.
was Faxon's fifth start since coming back from a broken wrist
that caused him to miss three months of the season.... Callaway
terminated its sponsorship of John Daly when Daly refused to
enter a rehab center after the company learned that he had
resumed drinking and gambling.... Four-time Masters champ Arnold
Palmer became the first winner of the tournament to be given a
full membership at Augusta National.

LPGA Led by winner Maria Hjorth of Sweden, six of the top eight
finishers in the Safeco Classic at Meridian Valley Country Club
in Kent, Wash., were foreigners.... Hjorth birdied six of the
first seven holes on Sunday, and her eight-under 64 tied the
lowest final round by a winner this year.

SENIOR A putting change helped Watson win the Bank One
Championship at Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas. Watson turned
his left shoulder in toward the ball and squared his stance. As
a result, he was third in putts per round (26.33). He ranked
25th (29) in his Senior debut the previous week.... Watson's
course-record 10-under-par 62 on Sunday was the lowest round of
his pro career.... Don January, 69, retired after the Bank One.

ALSO Playing in her record 80th USGA tournament, Carol Semple
Thompson won the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur at the Desert
Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Semple Thompson, 50, a USGA
executive committee member, is the only golfer to have won an
Amateur (1973), a Mid-Amateur ('90 and '97) and a Senior
Amateur.... Carl Paulson took over the top spot on the Nike tour
money list with his second straight victory, at the Boise
(Idaho) Open.... Pierre Fulke of Sweden, who won the Trophee
Lancome by a shot over Ignacio Garrido, is the 12th first-time
winner this season on the European tour.

COLOR PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY TIM SHARP The happy couple Watson's gift to Hilary, his wife of three weeks: his first Senior win.

UP and Down

Casey Martin's game Casey Martin's gam
Carol Semple Thompson Don January
GolfWeb.com PGATour.com
Arnold Palmer Bill Gates
Ryder Cup Texas Open