Love Wins Williams World Challenge

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) â€” Davis Love III was hungry for any type of victory. He got one, and a $1 million paycheck. <br><br>Although the Williams World Challenge is a made-for-TV event, Love was delighted

Monday, December 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) â€” Davis Love III was hungry for any type of victory. He got one, and a $1 million paycheck.

Although the Williams World Challenge is a made-for-TV event, Love was delighted to win it, overcoming frontrunners Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia by shooting an 8-under 64 on Sunday.

Woods shot 69 to finish two shots back in second, and Garcia had a 73 for third, five shots behind Love.

``It's nice to win since it's been a while. Obviously this was not a 150-man field, but it was a good field. There was the added tension when guys like Sergio and Tiger are leading,'' said Love, who hasn't won on the tour in more than two years.

Starting the final round at Sherwood Country Club four shots behind Garcia and three back of Woods. Love, who also had a 64 on Friday, finished at 22-under 266.

Woods shot a 69 to go 20 under, and Garcia had a 73 to finish third at 17 under.

Love's putts were falling, something that didn't go his way when he shot a third-round 71.

As Woods and Garcia hovered around par for the final day, Love birdied three holes on the front, then made a 5-footer for birdie to move in front for good on No. 10.

He sank a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 No. 11, added birdies with a 2-footer at No. 13 and a 10-footer at No. 15, then parred out to wrap up a bogey-free round.

``I said yesterday that Davis was playing well but not making any putts, so I knew that he would be there. But I didn't really expect him to shoot a 64,'' said Garcia, who had held or shared the lead with Woods since shooting a 65 the first day and a 64 the second.

Love has 13 career titles on the tour, including the 1997 PGA Championship. He hopes the win in the Williams World Challenge, which had an elite field of 12 players, is a sign of a comeback.

``Hopefully this will carry over to next year,'' he said.

Woods, like Garcia, wasn't surprised that Love won.

``At least I made it interesting with a few birdies, but Davis just had it going,'' Woods said. ``He has been playing well, and he will be able to get over that hump.

``He shot two 64s; that says something.''

Although Love was close to the lead heading into the final 18 holes, he was mostly overlooked since Garcia and Woods were 1-2 on the leaderboard.

``I knew when I walked off the course Saturday that it was a two-man race in the fans' minds. I said, `I'll just play with Freddie and have some fun,''' said Love, who was paired with Fred Couples in the next-to-last twosome to go off.

Couples was fourth with a 68 to finish 12 under. David Duval's 65 put him fifth at 10 under.

Tom Lehman, who won the inaugural Williams World Challenge in Scottsdale, Ariz., last January, finished tied for sixth this time with Masters champion Vijay Singh at 8 under. Justin Leonard was next at 5 under, followed by Stewart Cink at 2 under.

Jesper Parnevik finished 1 under, and Hal Sutton 1 over. Mark O'Meara was 12th at 3 over, but still earned $120,000 â€” the last-place money in the $3.5 million tournament.

The tournament benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, which in turn benefits youth programs. Woods donated his $500,000 second-place check to the foundation.