Val Skinner

It could have been worse. There could have been worms. As rain pelted the Oakmont Country Club, forcing postponement of the Los Angeles Women's Championship early in the second round, players were reminded of the creepy, crawly, good-old days. In the mid-1980s, the Glendale course played host to three wintertime LPGA events, all of which suffered through varying amounts of rain, fog and even hail. It rained so hard during a 1986 tournament that worms squirmed up from the flooded greens.

Ed Fiori and Doug Tewell battled oppressive heat Thursday en route to 6-under-par 66s that gave them each a share of the first-round lead in the $750,000 St. Jude golf tournament at Memphis, Tenn. Fiori, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour in the past decade, and Tewell, a four-time career winner, each had bogeyless rounds. They held a two-stroke margin over Tim Simpson, Peter Jacobsen and Jodie Mudd. "It was hot and sweaty, pretty miserable," Fiori said.

Mike Hulbert and Lori Garbacz, a last-minute pairing, and the veteran team of Larry Mize and Martha Nause shared the lead in the third round of the $800,000 J.C. Penney golf tournament at Largo, Fla., Saturday. Garbacz, who replaced injured Val Skinner as Hulbert's partner, and Hulbert, who finished second with Skinner 2 years ago, combined for a 7-under-par 65 over the par-72 Bardmoor Country Club course.

Amateur Scott Verplank played what he called an "unconscious" back nine--six birdies in his last eight holes--and stretched his lead to three strokes Friday in the second round of the $500,000 Western Open in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook. Verplank, 21, an Oklahoma State student from Dallas and the current national amateur champion, shot another 68 and finished two rounds over the difficult Butler National course in 136, eight-under par. "I was kind of nervous over the first nine holes.

Hal Sutton, vowing to play with an aggressive style in today's final round, moved into a two-shot lead in the $500,000 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta golf tournament Saturday with a five-under-par 67. "I'm going to be thinking birdie from the time I tee off tomorrow," Sutton said after posting his 201 total to wrest the lead from second-round leader Doug Tewell, who fell into a tie for second place with Scott Hoch at 203. "I'm trying to think aggressively," Sutton said.

Ayako Okamoto, her back problems over with, never gave her pursuers an opening Sunday, shooting a steady 1-under-par 71 to win the second LPGA tournament of the year by a stroke over Muffin Spencer-Devlin. Okamoto, who went into the final round with a one-shot lead, finished the $200,000 Elizabeth Arden tournament with an 8-under-par 280, tying the tournament record set last year by JoAnne Carner.

After winning the U.S. Women's Open championship in a playoff last week, Jane Geddes found the LPGA Boston Five Golf tournament to be a breeze. Geddes birdied the final two holes for a 68 Sunday to beat rookie Deb Richard by one shot and win the $275,000 tournament at Danvers, Mass. "I was relaxed," Geddes said after finishing with a 281 total. "I wasn't as shaky as in the Open and I felt I had a good chance to win. "This feels great, it's a great July.

Front-runner Hal Sutton, despite some erratic drives and a balky putter, still managed to shoot a three-under-par 68 and stretch his lead to four strokes Saturday in the third round of the $500,000 Phoenix Open golf tournament. "It could have been a lot lower," the former PGA champion said. "I had some opportunities I didn't capitalize on."

John Cook scored a decisive eagle-3 on the 17th hole and vaulted past defending champion Ken Green Sunday to win the $1-million International tournament at Castle Rock, Colo. Cook, who hadn't won a tournament since the Canadian Open in 1983, finished with 11 points under the modified Stableford scoring system used for this unique event. He had a medal score of 69, 3 under par on the Castle Pines Golf Club in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

Tom Watson and Ben Crenshaw rallied on the back nine Saturday to secure spots among the final 18 players competing for $700,000 today in the championship round of the $1-million International golf tournament at Castle Rock, Colo. Watson birdied three of the last five holes in the unique tournament to shoot a two-under-par 70 that was good for six points. Crenshaw also survived the cut with six points in a round of 71 that included birdies on the 13th, 14th and 17th holes.