The Ten-Percent Tournament

William Earl Casper Jr., 35, used to be a fat, sick Congregationalist, who won a lot of money playing golf. He is now a slim, healthy Mormon. Nothing else has changed. Last week, at San Francisco's Olympic Country Club golf course, Billy won the U.S. Open for the second time--without even trying to win.

In his own words, he was "just trying to finish second." By the time the fourth round was half over, Arnold Palmer had a seven-stroke lead, and seemed certain to break Ben Hogan's 18-year-old Open record of 276 for 72 holes. Casper, Dave Marr, Tony Lema and Jack Nicklaus were battling for the runner-up purse of $12,500. Then, in one of the most shocking turnabouts in sports history, Palmer blew 1) his lead, 2) his cool and 3) the tournament.

Nobody got particularly excited when Palmer bogeyed Olympic's par-four tenth hole, cutting his lead over Casper to six strokes--especially after both golfers parred the eleventh hole and birdied the twelfth. Nobody got alarmed when Arnie lost a second stroke at the par-three 13th. After the 14th, with four holes to go, he still had a five-stroke lead. Then, with incredible swiftness, disaster struck. On the par-three, 150-yd. 15th hole, Palmer's No. 7 iron shot strayed off line and caught a yawning sand trap to the right of the green. He bogeyed the hole, and lost two strokes when Casper curled a downhill, 30-ft. putt smack into the center of the cup for a birdie.

Visibly rattled and muttering to himself, Palmer stepped up to the 16th tee, and proceeded to bounce his drive off a tree into the high grass. His second shot, a No. 3 iron, crawled less than 100 yds. through the rough. He had to hit a No. 9 iron just to get the ball back on the fairway. A stray No. 3 wood left Arnie trapped just off the green; he had to explode to within 4 ft. of the rim and sink the putt to salvage a six--"the greatest six I ever made." Another birdie by Casper cut Palmer's lead to one stroke, and that stroke vanished when Arnie missed a 10-ft. putt on the 17th hole. Both golfers parred the 18th, and for the 24th time in 72 years the U.S. Open went into a playoff.

Beating Arnold Palmer in an Open play-off is no longer news; he has been involved in three and lost them all. Casper did it spectacularly. Once the "fat young man" of the pro tour, now slimmed down 45 Ibs. (to 180 Ibs. on his 5-ft. 11-in. frame) on an antiallergy diet that includes such entrees as buffalo steak and mooseburgers, Billy was converted to Mormonism last Jan. 1 and spent the night before the play-off attending a church "fireside" 35 miles from San Francisco. Next day he fired his fourth subpar round of the tournament--a one under 69--to beat Palmer by four strokes for the $25,000 winner's purse. "Ten percent of it will go to the Mormon Church," he announced. Sighed Palmer, who wound up with the $12,500 that Billy had originally been shooting for: "Ten percent of it will go to my business manager."

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