Parnevik Posts Win At Greensboro

April 22, 1999 / 9:19 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Jesper Parnevik didn't hit many fairways in the final round. But it didn't matter.

Parnevik fired a two-under 70 despite hitting just five fairways to close out a record-setting victory Sunday.

He finished the tournament at 23-under par, breaking by six shots the 72-hole scoring record for the tournament since it moved to Forest Oaks in 1977. Sandy Lyle and Ken Green set the previous mark of 17-under-par 271 in 1988. Lyle won that year in a playoff.

Parnevik's four-day 265 was the best on tour this year, beating by one stroke David Duval's 266 at the season-opening Mercedes Championships. He missed the all-time tour record by four shots for most strokes under par (28-under) set by John Huston in the 1998 Hawaiian Open.

He came that close despite hitting just 10 fairways off the tee in the final two rounds and just one on the back nine Sunday.

"I really did struggle with my driving on the weekend," Parnevik said. "Every time I hit a fairway, I made birdie. Apart from that, it was a struggle. The swing that I had on my irons that worked very well, did not work very well on my driver."

Jim Furyk, who played with Parnevik on Sunday, shot a 69 to finish 21-under par. Furyk started the day three shots behind the leader, but closed the gap to one with a 30-foot chip-in for birdie on the 11th hole.

Parnevik countered with a chip-in for birdie from the back fringe on the par-3 12th, and holed a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 13 to push the lead back to three.

Parnevik bogeyed the 14th hole after slicing another drive into the rough. But Furyk settled for a par after missing a 20-foot birdie attempt and Parnevik still led by two heading to 15.

Both players parred 15 but Parnevik said he still wasn't comfortable with his lead because of how he was hitting his driver.

"I stood over the ball (on the 16th tee) and just told my caddy, `I have no idea where this is going to end up,'" Parnevik said. "I was just hoping I was going to go anywhere near the fairway. I was kind of thinking, the further up the rough I could get it, the better it is.

"And that was one of the few fairways I actually hit."

Parnevik parred 16 and 17 before another bad drive led to a bogey at 18. But Furyk couldn't take advantage, two-putting from 20 feet at 17 for par and scrambling from thback fringe to save par at 18.

"I can't be upset about the way I played. I beat the rest of the field by six," said Furyk, who had only three bogeys this week to Parnevik's eight. "I can't control what Jesper does. He just made more birdies than I did."

Jeff Maggert, who started the day 10 strokes behind Parnevik, shot a 68 on Sunday and finished 15-under. Dudley Hart carded an even-par 72 and finished 14-under, alone in fourth place in the tournament sponsored by Chrysler.

The victory was a stunning turnaround for Parnevik, who was disqualified at last week's MCI Classic for using his glove to brush away debris in his putting line. He fired his longtime caddy, Loren Duncan, last week and hired former touring pro Lance Ten Broeck to carry his bag this week.

"Every win is special in its own way," said Parnevik. "This one is timely. It was a big surprise for me to win this week."

Divots:

Parnevik birdied 27 of 72 holes over the four rounds. He was 11-under alone on the four par-5s.
Furyk and Tom Lehman joined Green as the only players in tournament history to shoot four rounds in the 60s at Forest Oaks. Green had rounds of 68, 67, 69 and 67 in 1988 before losing to Lyle in the playoff. Lehman shot a 69 on Sunday to finish 13-under par.
Defending champion Trevor Dodds shot a 69 on Sunday and finished 11-under, just one shot worse than his winning total a year ago.