COPE IS THE WORD FIORI SHOWS TOUGHNESS OF OLDER GOLFERS.

Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - These guys are not only good, as the tour slogan keeps reminding us, but they are mentally tough.

Take Ed Fiori, for example. The Lynwood native, former Warren High of Downey golfer and University of Houston All-American, who is one of the few players ever to win a PGA Tour event by overtaking Tiger Woods on a Sunday, overcame arguably longer odds four days ago to win his first Champions Tour event in another memorable final round.

Fiori not only came from seven strokes down Sunday to win the MasterCard Classic in Mexico City, in a playoff with Graham Marsh, but did so after suffering what he thought was a heart attack Saturday.

``My blood pressure was sky high,'' he said Wednesday, recalling struggling down the stretch of that stressful second round, then sitting anxiously in an ambulance watching his blood pressure track at 180 over 120.

``My heart was racing,'' Fiori said of his final five Saturday holes, in which he amazingly went just 2 over par after first experiencing problems.

``I could feel a heavy pounding in my heart, my hands were shaking, I was sweating, I was short of breath. I thought, `I've got a couple more holes, let's just see if I can finish here.' It was pretty scary there, really,''

Fiori, who is entered in this week's SBC Classic at Valencia Country Club, had good reason to suspect a heart attack: He had undergone one Dec. 31, when an artery collapsed during a routine physical examination.

Good timing and an emergency procedure, shoring up the artery walls, got Fiori through his New Year's Eve nightmare. More prompt medical attention helped defuse his latest problem and anxiety Saturday. Then Fiori took care of his tournament troubles on his own.

He birdied five of his first six holes Sunday, pulled off an improbable birdie on his 18th hole after missing a hazard by inches, and won on the third playoff hole for his first victory since overtaking third-round leader Woods in the final round of the 1996 Quad City Classic.

Then-rookie Woods would go on to earn his first of 40 PGA Tour victories the following month, and Fiori would not win again until beating seemingly insurmountable odds at the MasterCard Classic, where his seven-stroke rally tied the second-best comeback in the history of the age-50-and-older tour formerly known as the PGA Senior Tour.

Only Jay Sigel, who overcame a 10-stroke deficit to defeat Jim Colbert in the 1994 GTE West Classic at Ojai, has won from further back since the senior tour started in 1980.

Fiori pulled off his rally after wondering if he would be able to play Sunday.

``We're playing at 8,000 feet,'' he said. ``The combination of the stress of the tournament and the altitude and not enough medication is what caused all those problems.''

But that was what he found out after post-round medical treatment Saturday. His initial reaction coming down those final second-round holes was, ``I was thinking we were getting ready to go there (heart attack) again.''

``It's an amazing story,'' said Peter Jacobsen, who is making his Champions Tour debut at the SBC Classic and was saying only last week that he was looking forward to renewing acquaintances with college and PGA Tour rival Fiori.

``The fact that he felt like maybe he wasn't going to play and for him to gut it out and win is amazing,'' Jacobsen said. ``He's always been a tough little competitor and one of the great guys out here.''

Dave Shelburne, [phone]

dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

SBC CLASSIC

--What- Champions Tour event

--Where- Valencia Country Club

--When- Friday through Sunday (Pro-Am today)

--Who- Tom Purtzer is defending champion in a 78-man no-cut field that includes past champions Jim Colbert, Tom Kite and Gil Morgan.

--How much- Purse is $1.5 million ($225,000 to winner)

--Parking- Today-Friday shuttle from Magic Mountain; Saturday-Sunday shuttle from College of the Canyons. Shuttle fee $5 per car or $10 for weekly pass.

--Tickets: Thursday Pro-Am $10; Friday-Sunday championship, $15 per day or $30 for weekly pass; Clubhouse pass, $75 daily.

--TV- The Golf Channel (Friday-Sunday, 3-5:30 p.m. tape delay each day)

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Not even symptoms of a heart attack could stop Ed Fiori from winning the MasterCard Classic in Mexico City on Sunday.

Jaime Puebla/Associated Press

Box:

(1) SBC CLASSIC (see text)

(2) FRIDAY START TIMES FOR SBC CLASSIC IN VALENCIA