GOLF ROUNDUP : CHARLES REIGNS AGAIN AS KAANAPALI'S KING.

Byline: Associated Press

Bob Charles had an eagle and two birdies over the final five holes Sunday to hold off Hale Irwin and successfully defend his Kaanapali Classic title on the island of Maui, his third since 1990.

Charles' closing 2-under-par 69 gave him a 54-hole total 198 and a one-stroke victory over Irwin, who had a 70.

Although he didn't win, Irwin moved past Jim Colbert in the money race on the Senior PGA Tour. Second place was worth $77,350 and raised Irwin's winnings for the year to $1,557,344, $40,000 more than Colbert with two tournaments left on the schedule.

Charles and Irwin started the final round tied at 13-under and traded leads through the first 13 holes.

But a birdie by Charles at the 423-yard 13th evened the match and then the 60-year-old left-hander from New Zealand took the lead for good with his an eagle on the 480-yard 15th, his fourth of the tournament.

Charles then clinched the $97,500 first prize by draining a 65-foot birdie putt on the 155-yard 17th.

With a two-stroke lead, Charles lagged his par putt on 18 within six inches and tapped in for his first victory of the year and his 23rd Senior Tour title.

Steve Veriato, a Monday qualifier, toured the 6,590-yard Kaanapali North Course with a closing 66 to finish alone in third at 200.

Don Bies made up three strokes and was at 201 along with former PGA Commissioner Deane Beman. Four golfers - Bud Allin, John Jacobs, Graham Marsh and Don January - were another stroke behind.

McNulty wins closer: Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty shot a 3-under-par 68 and won the Volvo Masters in Sotogrande, Spain, by seven shots in the PGA European Tour's season-ending event.

It was McNulty's third victory of the year and 15th in his European career. He had a 72-hole total of 8-under 276.

The victory was worth $238,000 from the $1.39 million purse.

After taking the lead in the third round, McNulty fired birdies on the par-3 third hole, the par-4 10th and 18th, and on the par-5 11th at the 6,819-yard, par-71 Valderrama course.

His only bogey came at the par-4 seventh after hitting his tee shot far to the left.

``It's an important win on such a demanding course,'' McNulty said. ``I said to my caddy at the beginning of the week that I felt I was playing well enough to win, but you can never say you can win around here.''

Four players tied for second at 283, including South African Wayne Westner, whose 67 was the day's best score. Also at 283 were Argentina's Jose Coceres (71), Scotland's Sam Torrance (68) and England's Lee Westwood (71).

Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, winner of his fourth straight European money title, carded a 75 for 292.

Victory in Asia: The U.S. LPGA team won eight of the day's 18 singles matches and tied four others, finishing with a 21-1/2-14-1/2 victory over Japan in the $675,000 Nichirei International in Ami, Japan.

It was the LPGA's 12th victory in a row and 16th overall against only two losses since 1979.

The LPGA, leading 11-1/2-6-1/2 after the first two days, outscored Japan 10-8 on the final day. A victory was worth one point and a tie a half-point.

Each of the 18 LPGA players received $24,000.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Bob Charles, of Oxford, New Zealand, celebrates after his 65-foot birdie putt on 17.

Associated Press