Back Nine

SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- The predictions of a rout in the 32nd Ryder Cup at Valderrama Golf Club are coming true. There is one minor hitch: The highly favored U.S. team finds itself on the wrong end of this potential blowout.After finishing the rain-delayed and darkness-suspended Friday matches yesterday morning trailing by a point, the Americans unraveled like the inside of an old golf ball in the fourball matches and continued their surprising free fall in the foursome matches later in the day.The result was a shocking 9-4 deficit of those matches completed, meaning that the U.S. team must win 10 1/2 of the remaining 15 points between the three matches that were not finished last night because of darkness forced by an earlier rain delay and the 12 singles matches scheduled for today.

It would be easy for top teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to write off Morgan State. After all, coach Todd Bozeman's team opened this season by losing 13 of its first 19 games, coming off the program's worst record in six years. Just two weeks shy of the MEAC tournament, however, the Bears are officially on a roll. Point guard Blake Bozeman, the sophomore son of the coach, had a career-high 16 points to lead six players in double figures, as host Morgan State battled back from a nine-point deficit near halftime, creeping closer to the .500 mark with an 86-68 win over Coppin State.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- All around him yesterday, those at or near the lead in the 63rd Masters were backing up on the back nine of Augusta National, their names and scores moving down a few notches on the leader board.First, Lee Janzen took the lead away from Jose Maria Olazabal, only to cough it up with a couple of poor decisions that led to bogeys.Then Davis Love charged in front, before he put his second shot on the par-5 15th in the water and double-bogeyed the hole.After stumbling on the front nine, Olazabal kept avoiding the disasters that had befallen others, particularly on Amen Corner and again on the 18th hole.

A rare $2,500 signing bonus didn't work. Nor has a $1.50-an-hour raise for entry-level workers. Now Southwest Airlines has created special management positions in Baltimore along with Philadelphia and Chicago to tackle the problem: hiring enough baggage handlers - ramp agents in airline parlance - and hanging on to the ones it's already got. "It's a very different environment than a 9-to-5 job," said Paula Darby, Southwest's new ramp retention specialist...

Baltimore County Golf today announced a new name for Longview Golf Course: Fox Hollow Golf Course. It is part of efforts to modernize the Timonium public course. The name was one of many submitted by area golfers and then narrowed to five choices. The Fox Hollow name and logo are a nod to the famous Longview foxes that were discovered stealing golf balls from the putting greens because they thought they were bird eggs in the 1980s. "As a staff, we are excited that the new name, Fox Hollow, and the renovations mark a new beginning for our course," said Chris Hanson, head golf professional.

Connie Pifer, from Hunt Valley Golf Club, highlighted her round with an eagle-3 at the 400-yard third hole and went on to shoot 37-3673 and capture the annual Greiner Cup at Caves Valley Golf Club yesterday.Andrea Kraus, a two-time winner, shot 39-3776, and Kristin Dollenberg included three birdies in a par-matching front-nine 36 and also ended with 76. Cindy Peterka, another two-time champion, followed at 78.Joan Winchester, the current Metropolitan champion, won the Seniors championship with 79.Wakefield Valley Golf Club pro-invitation: Joe Burden, second-year professional at River Downs GC, birdied the eighth hole (his 17th)

Larry Storck and Joe Records combined for an 8-under-par 63, and took a five-stroke lead yesterday after the first round of the annual two-man team championship sponsored by the Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation at Mount Pleasant Golf Course.The pace-setters, who have won the event four of the past five years, shot 3-under 33 on the front, then started eagle-birdie and went on to shoot 5-under 30 on the back nine.Results, Page 16CPub Date: 5/17/98

Defending champion Andrea Kraus of Woodholme Country Club saw a 3-up margin shrink to one early in the back nine, then won three successive holes for a 4-and-3 victory over medalist Natalie McNicholas, Baltimore CC member, in the final of the 71st Metropolitan championship of the Women's Golf Association at the Suburban Club. The win gave Kraus a record 11th title in the event since 1978, and eclipsed the 10 won by Evelyn Glick between 1946 and 1966.

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Martha Nause made a wedge shot from 107 yards out for an eagle-3 on the 18th, capping a six-stroke comeback with a record-tying 65 to win.Nause was five shots behind Kris Monaghan after three rounds and trailed by four entering the back nine. But she played the final four holes in five under, with birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th before the closing eagle.She ended up with a 13-under 275, one shot better than Monaghan. Tina Barrett of Baltimore was third after a 71 for a 9-under 279.

A Baltimore team collected six points (back nine and overall) from three pairings and earned a 10 1/2 -7 1/2 victory over a Washington side in the annual team match sponsored and conducted by the Maryland State Golf Association at Baltimore Country Club yesterday. Doug Ballenger-Rick Sovero won the first two holes on the back nine, then held off a late bid by Marty West-Bryan Borda; Dave Nocar won the15th with a par and Bob Kaestner birdied 16 to stop Chuck Ingram-Tim Moylan, and BCC member Justin Klein made four putts outside 15 feet, three for birdies, as he and Brad Hastings topped Bill Murphy-SteveBlock.