European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 27, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes Orts july 27,1993 . Women s open golfer s famine is Over by Piank Lowenkron Carmel ind. A with a closing charge befitting a Champi on Lauri Merton finally won a tournament after nine years. And her timing could t have been better. She captured the . Women s open by one stroke sunday with birdies on two of the last three holes. Merton chipped from about 70. Feet for a Birdie on the 404-Yard 16th Hole. Then she just missed an Eagle on the 400-Yard closing Hole when her 160-Yard approach stopped three feet from the cup. The Birdie gave her a 4-Undcr-Par 68 for the Day and an 8-Undcr 280 for the tournament. Helen Alfred soon of Sweden who began the round leading by two strokes slipped to a tic for second at 281 with a 74. She pushed a 15 foot putt on the final Hole just to the right of the cup that would have Merten forced an 18-Hole playoff monday. Donna Andrews one of four women to Lead during the final round shot 71 to tie Alfredson. Pat Bradley who had moved to 8-under in quest of duplicating her 1981 open Triumph faded with a bogey on no. 15 and a double bogey on no. 16 to finish tied for fourth at 73 with a 283 total. Hiromi Kobayashi of Japan who was second when the weather delayed final round at the 6,311-Yard crooked stick Golf club began bogeyed the final Hole to tie with Bradley. Merten who had not won a tournament since 1984, missed the Cut in two of her last three tournaments and finished in a tie for 75th in the other. She earned $144,000 for her third tour Victory and nearly doubled her previous winnings of $175,706 this year. Defending Champion Patty Sheehan was at 284. Neil Bennett s car Flics into the Tri Oval Protection Fence during the Dichiard 500 at the Talladega Sope Speedway on sunday. Earnhardt wins by inches in wild Day at Talladega by Bruce Martin Talladega Ala. Up Dale Earnhardt s Victory sunday in the die hard 500 Lascar Winston cup race was a perfect example of the race Driver s toughness and single mindedness that Al lows him to overcome Adverse situations. Driving in temperatures caring 100 degrees Earnhardt was the Winner of a race that included several near catastrophic. Stanley Smith a 43-year-old Driver from Chelsea Ala., is in very critical condition at the Carraway methodist medi Cal Center in Birmingham Ala., after he was involved in a Multi car crash on the 70th Lap. Smith s Chevrolet was slammed into by Richard Petty s Ford leaving Smith clinging for life. According to a Hospital spokesman Smith was unconscious sunday night suf Fering paralysis on his right Side and was undergoing tests to determine the source of internal bleeding. Smith was transferred into the euro intensive care unit. Smith was starting his first Lascar Winston cup race of the season and the 28th of his career. He is the 1989 Winston All pro Challenge series Cham Pion and competed in Lascar Winston cup Busch grand National All pro and Lascar modified. He is married to Delphia and has three children Brett 22 Scottie 20 and autumn 16. Smith owns a drywall business in Chelsea. During the same wreck Jimmy Hor ton s Chevrolet flew completely out of the track. His car went Over the Wall in the first turn tumbled Down the banking and landed at the Bottom of the embankment. Amazingly Horton was uninjured and had already climbed out of his car when Talladega county police arrived at the scene. And Neil Bonnett competing in his diehard 500 first Lascar Winston cup race since suffering a serious head injury in the 1990 Tran South 500, knocked a stretch of the Fence Down when his Chevrolet went out of control flipped end Over and in the Tri Oval portion of the track and flew into the Fence that separates the race track from the grandstands packed with Over 100,000 fans. He was driving the same car Earnhardt drove to a second place finish in the Daytona 500. The 46-year-old Bonnett climbed out of his car with Only a bruised Arm but the race was stopped for 1 hour 10 minutes and eight seconds while the Fence was re paired. It was Dur ing this time when Earnhardt and the other Drivers in the Earnhardt race were Able to climb out of their cars that the five time Lascar Winston cup Champion realized he had the Fiel covered. During that break when they stopped the race to repair the Fence i got out of the car and saw All these Young Guys just dripping wet with sweat Earnhardt said. Guys like Jeff Gordon was soaked and Little Brett Bodine was Over there getting oxygen and i Felt fresh As a Daisy. I looked Over at them and thought Humph. Maybe i have 20 years left Inthis sport " Earnhardt s fearless approach in what could have been a disastrous Day in Auto racing allowed him to overcome the obstacles keep his Good wrench Chevrolet out of trouble and beat Ernie Irvan by just six inches in a wild finish. Earnhardt led the race five times for 59 laps averaged 153.857 Miles an hour around the 2.66-mile Speedway and won $87,315. Finishing behind Earnhardt and Irvan were Mark Martin Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett. When the race was restarted on the 139th Lap after the delay to repair the Fence Earnhardt was in third place be Hind Irvan and Ricky Rudd. Kyle Petty took the Lead on the 147th Lap and was in front during the closing laps of the race. But three laps from the finish Earnhardt passed Petty at the end of the Backstretch and was Able to hold off a frantic Battle involving Irvan mar tin Petty and Jarrett to win the diehard 500 for a fifth time. I ran behind Ernie and Kyle and thought if they got to racing i would be Able to get by them Earnhardt  got Down to two laps to go and i a Assad Kyle. I got by him then Erni Eung in there for a half Lap. Ernie was beating me in the Tri Oval which i wanted him to but i was Able to suck underneath him and beat him by inches. We were fortunate enough to do that. I Don t think it was a plan or any thing we were just playing the game Ashe game goes. I played the game until the last move and we got the last  the win was Earnhardt s fifth in the last eight races this season. But despite witnessing so much adversity in sunday s race he did t let that affect his Outlook on the dangers of racing. I Don t think racing is any More High ask than anything else Earnhardt said. Stanley Smith was doing what he enjoyed in racing. It was Neil Bennett s wish to get Back in a race  pc 1