MELBOURNE, Australia -- The U.S. team of Ben Crenshaw and Mark McCumber won golf's World Cup Sunday, beating Japanese brothers Jumbo and Jet Ozaki by a stroke in the 72-hole event.
The Americans played alongside the Japanese in the last group and were three shots ahead entering the last hole. Crenshaw sank a tricky 3-foot putt for par while McCumber took a double-bogey 6. The two Japanese players parred.
'I was trying not to play too many mathematics in my mind when I stood over that last putt,' Crenshaw said. 'I battled with my putter all day and I was just happy to see it go down.'
'The 18th green was very close,' Jumbo Ozaki said. 'Crenshaw holed a very good putt under difficult conditions. It was downhill.'
For two weeks, the Royal Melbourne course has been whipped by wind and rain.
'A par on any hole out there today really was a good score,' McCumber said. 'And if you could grind out a birdie, it was a real bonus.'
The Americans received $100,000 each. Crenshaw also won the $50,000 winner-take-all individual event, edging Jet Ozaki by a shot. Canada's Dave Barr was third, two shots behind Crenshaw.
The Americans started the day 19-under-par, three strokes ahead of Japan and Australia. They finished 72 holes at 16-under for a 560 total. Crenshaw had rounds of 68, 67, 66, 74 and McCumber shot 71, 70, 71, 73.
The Japanese finished at 561. Jumbo Ozaki had rounds of 70, 71, 71, 73. His brother was at 68, 69, 67, 72.
Australia (Peter Senior and Roger Mackay) finished at 562. Canada was fourth at 569.
The Australians joined the Americans in the lead when they went to 20-under after six holes, but then dropped 12 shots from the seventh to the 12th. Mackay came in at 76.
'If things had gone just a little bit differently over the last five holes we could have pinched it,' Mackay said.
The Australian team had been under great pressure this week because of a controversy over which players should be on the team. Many thought Greg Norman and Rodger Davis should have represented the country.
