Golf Roundup : Koch’s First Win in Four Years Is a Big One

Gary Koch emerged from a six-man scramble Sunday with a hard-fought 67 and scored his first victory in four years, a one-stroke win in the Las Vegas Invitational golf tournament, the richest on the PGA Tour.

Koch, 35, on a comeback after a miserable 1987 season and in this tournament only on a special exemption, registered the sixth victory of his career with a 274 total, 14-under par, at Las Vegas Country Club.

The victory was worth $250,000 from the total purse of $1,388,889 and was more than he had won in all but 1 of his 12 previous seasons on the PGA Tour.

Tying for second at 275 were Peter Jacobsen, who shot a 70, and Mark O’Meara, who shot a 66. Curt Byrum bogeyed No. 18 for a 72 and fell into a cluster at 276.

The tournament was shortened from 90 to 72 holes because of high winds Thursday.

Juli Inkster put her approach shot 4 feet from the cup and sank the putt for an eagle on the first playoff hole to beat Betsy King, Rosie Jones and Nancy Lopez in the $300,000 LPGA Crestar tournament at Suffolk, Va.

The victory, the ninth of Inkster’s career, came after a final-round 69 that pulled her into a tie with the three at 209, 7 shots under par for 3 rounds of the 6,215-yard Sleepy Hole Golf Course.

Inkster, who started the day four shots off the lead, collected $45,000 for the victory, which came in the fourth playoff in as many weeks on the LPGA tour.

Amy Alcott, Missie Berteotti and 36-hole leader Sherri Turner finished one shot back at 210. Alcott shot 69, Berteotti a 74 and Turner a 75.

Billy Casper shot a 5-under-par 67 to edge defending champion Chi Chi Rodriguez by one stroke and win the $250,000 Vantage at the Dominion Senior Tournament in San Antonio, Tex.

Casper finished with a 54-hole total of 11-under-par 205 over the 6,649-yard Dominion Country Club course. He collected $37,500.

Rodriguez, trailing by a shot, tried to reach the par-5 18th hole in two from 200 yards out, but his wood hit the green on the fly and skipped into a pond behind the green. After a stroke penalty, he made a 20-foot par putt, but it wasn’t enough as Casper also parred the hole. Rodriguez shot a 68 for a total of 206.

Don January also shot a 68 to finish third, another stroke back. Gene Littler and Bruce Crampton each shot 67 and finished in a three-way tie with Dale Douglass at 209. Douglass shot a 71.

“It’s fun to win again,” said Casper, who, at 56, is the oldest Senior winner this year. “I was terrible at the beginning of the year. The last month, I have been putting well. As you get older, you appreciate winning a lot more. You realize all the work that goes into it.”