Andrade, Donald denied in sudden death play-off By Jim Wilson As he calmly walked up to the biggest putt of his career, Andrew Pitts couldn't help but think back to a similar moment two years earlier.

It was the 18th hole of the Zimbabwe Open and all Pitts needed was to sink a four-foot putt for the victory -- and entrance into the lucrative Gene Sarazen World Open.

He missed.

Fast forward to Saturday. Amid the howling gusts of Hurricane Lili, Pitts needed to sink a four-foot putt on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the Bermuda Open -- and gain entrance into the World Open.

This time he made no mistake.

"I've replayed that four-foot putt in my head over and over ever since,'' a grinning Pitts said after conquering his personal demons in a thrilling 73-hole battle with PGA veteran Billy Andrade and defending champion Mike Donald at Port Royal Golf Course.

"I think a little justice was served today.'' Not for Andrade, who came to Bermuda with the solitary goal of advancing to the World Open and who likely would have were it not for an astonishing triple-bogey on the par five second hole.

Not for Donald, who started the day four shots back and sank a 35-foot birdie on the 18th hole to pull into a three-way tie with the leaders.

And not even for Lili, which kicked and fussed and sent scores into the stratosphere but couldn't take away from a remarkable performance for a personable 29-year-old North Carolinan whose previous biggest victory was the 1993 Vermont Open.

Pitts, who tries to gain his PGA card at qualifying school, starting tomorrow in Nashville, Tennessee, may even reflect upon this tournament the same way he did upon his blown putt in Zimbabwe. For different reasons.

In particular, he may recollect his third shot of the play-off, when, buried in the rough below a bunker 25 yards to the right of the pin, he lofted an L-wedge into the blinding rain and watched it lip the cup to set up his critical putt.

"To tell you the truth, I was more concerned with getting it over the bunker then getting it close to the pin,'' Pitts said.

The shot took on added importance when Andrade and Donald both landed in trouble off the first tee, Andrade with a slice beyond the cart path to the right and Donald nestled against a tree far to the left. Ultimately both were left with missed 20-foot putts to try and equal Pitts' par.

"He deserved to win,'' said Donald.

"My hat's off to him,'' added Andrade.

Miraculously, all three -- along with Island pro Dwayne Pearman, who finished fourth on 283 -- were able to shrug off the conditions as mere annoyances.

Pitts even credited the weather with helping his concentration.

"It was so bad that I couldn't really event think about being nervous,'' he said. "There was wind and rain and cold; all I thought about was just trying to do my best.'' Said Donald: "I grew up in Florida and I'm used to weather like this. I like to think the harder a course plays, the more it separates the field.'' And after three days of near perfect conditions, it did. Donald, playing in a group ahead of Pitts, Andrade and Pearman, had the day's best score -- a 70 -- despite a bogey on the 16th hole that left him two shots back of the leaders.

"I figured I was in trouble,'' he said.

But on the 18th, unbeknownst to Andrade and Pitts, he recovered with a long birdie then watched the two leaders, both playing conservatively, bogey to force the play-off.

Both finished with 74s; Pearman had a 75. The day's second-best score went to top Bermuda amateur Robert Vallis, with a 71.

Andrade, a 32-year-old ranked number 44 on the PGA money list this year, was angry at himself for two reasons: His uncharacteristic triple and a series of missed birdie putts that followed.

"I totally gave it up,'' he said.

Andrade's eight on the 563-yard par five second not only meant a four-shot swing -- Pitts birdied the hole -- it also, in Andrade's view, took the pressure right off the youngster. Pitts did help Andrade with a double bogey of his own on the par five seventh and another on 11, with the latter finally pulling even with a birdie on the 17th.

It was only Andrade's second birdie of the round -- although he could've had more. "That's golf,'' he tried to philosophise. "Some days they drop, some days they don't.'' Added Pitts: "I dodged bullets left and right. Billy had really good birdie opportunities but he just couldn't capitalise.''