GOLF ROUNDUP : Norman Gets Frosted on the Final Hole

Lightning struck Greg Norman again Sunday.

David Frost holed a blast from the sand from 50 feet on the 18th hole to edge the unlucky Australian by one stroke in the $1-million USF&G; Classic at New Orleans.

It was the first tournament victory for Frost since he won the World Series of Golf last year, and it stifled a typical Sunday rally by Norman, who should be getting used to losing tournaments in spectacular fashion.

Norman began the day five strokes off the pace, fought into the lead after six holes and was tied with Frost at 11 under after a birdie on 18 completed his round.

Frost hit his drive on 18 into the sand on the left of the fairway, then gambled by hitting a 3-iron 208 yards over water into the front bunker.

“I was going to have to hit a two-iron if I was going to hit the green, but the ball would have gone on past. It was the only option I had,” Frost said. “I play for all of the bunkers, if I can.”

He wedged out of the bunker, and the ball rolled in for a final-round 69 and a 12-under-par 276.

Norman shot a final-round 65, the best of the tournament, with eight birdies, an eagle and two bogeys.

He eagled No. 15, birdied Nos. 11, 14 and 16, then bogeyed 17.

Norman hit his drive on 18 straight into the wind, then put his second shot within nine inches of the cup for a tap-in for birdie that appeared to have clinched a sudden-death playoff when Frost’s first shot went left into the sand.

Norman’s day started rough. He didn’t have the proper parking pass, and a police officer refused to let him through the gates at English Turn, even though the officer recognized him and fans in a bus passing by cheered him. “I don’t care,” the officer said.

After about five minutes, a tournament committee member arrived to get Norman through.

Frost went into Sunday’s play as the leader at nine under par, but fell off the pace on the front nine with a birdie and three bogeys.

He recovered on the back nine with six birdies and took the lead at 11 under with a birdie on No. 15, the island green that plagued competitors the whole tournament.

Frost picked up $180,000 as the winner’s share. Norman, runner-up to Tim Simpson here last year, won $108,000. This year, Simpson finished sixth at 285.

Russ Cochran finished third at 279, Brian Tennyson was fourth at 284, and Jay Delsing finished fifth at 284.

Mike Donald got a hole-in-one on the 176-yard eighth hole. Donald bogeyed the final hole and finished with a round of 66.

It was the first hole-in-one in the USF&G; since the tournament moved to English Turn last year. It was Donald’s fourth on the tour.

Calvin Peete was disqualified on his first hole Sunday for hitting a ball from out of bounds.

Frank Beard, who grew up in nearby Dallas, lost a six-stroke lead in the final round, but held off two challenges in 94-degree weather and won the $400,000 Reunion Seniors Pro-Am at Frisco, Tex. “I’d never had a six-stroke lead, and I didn’t know what to do with it,” said Beard, who turns 51 Tuesday. “In a weird way, I felt more like playing golf, and played better, after I kind of frittered those strokes away.”

Beard earned his first senior tour victory and the biggest payday of his 29-year career, $60,000.

Walter Zembriski, who started the day eight strokes behind Beard, took a one-shot lead when he birdied the 17th hole--his fourth consecutive birdie--and Beard bogeyed 15. But Beard regained the lead when Zembriski double-bogeyed the par-4 18th hole.

Beard birdied 17 and finished with a two-over-par 74 on the 7,064-yard, par-72 Stonebriar Country Club course. That gave him a 54-hole total of 207, nine under par.

Zembriski finished at 209 to win $35,000. Dale Douglass was third at 210 for $29,000.