South Korea’s Oh Ji-young captured her second US LPGA tour title on Sunday, defeating Norwegian Suzann Pettersen by four shots at the Sybase Classic.
Oh carded a two-under 70 for a 14-under total of 274. She claimed a US$300,000 first prize and added the title to the State Farm Classic crown she won last year.
The 20-year-old finished with a flourish, draining a seven-foot birdie putt at the final hole. She had parred seven straight holes after a bogey at 10 in difficult scoring conditions and was the only player in the last four groups to break par.
PHOTO: AP
“Today, I did everything so right,” said Oh, who surpassed US$1 million in earnings on the LPGA tour.
Pettersen had a share of the lead through 11 holes, but dropped a shot after a poor drive at 12. A bogey-bogey finish then ended any hopes the Norwegian had of adding to her five career US titles. Pettersen finished with a 74 for 278.
Americans Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer both shot 73 to finish tied for third on 280, one shot in front of South Korea’s Kim In-kyung (70).
Taiwan’s Amy Hung shot a 71 to finish on five-under 283, tied for eighth place with compatriot Candie Kung, who shot a 74, and Sweden’s Louise Stahle.
Three-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa closed with a 73 and ended tied for 19th place on 287, while Taiwan’s Yani Tseng shot a 72 to finish a further shot back on 288 in a tie for 23rd spot.
■TEXAS OPEN
REUTERS, HOUSTON, TEXAS
Zach Johnson of the US rolled in a 12-foot birdie-putt to win the first sudden-death playoff hole against compatriot James Driscoll and successfully defend his Texas Open title in San Antonio on Sunday.
Johnson, tied with Driscoll on 265 after 72 holes at LaCantera Golf Club’s Resort Course, set up the win with a six-iron approach from 166 yards into the wind on the 18th green.
Driscoll missed a birdie putt after landing his approach 25 feet from the cup to surrender the tournament and a US$1 million purse to 2007 US Masters champion Johnson.
Early starter Driscoll fired an eight-under 62 in the final round and waited about two hours to find himself in a playoff against Johnson, who shot 70.
Johnson had a chance to win in regulation, but his birdie putt from about the same distance as the winner came up short.
A stroke shy of joining the playoff were Americans Bill Haas and Paul Goydos, who led the field by one stroke through 70 holes before collapsing with a bogey-bogey finish.
■IRISH OPEN
AFP, DROGHEDA, IRELAND
Irish amateur Shane Lowry was forced into making a quick decision about his career after winning the Irish Open on Sunday after a dramatic play-off with England’s Robert Rock.
The 22-year-old showed nerves of steel having led at both the halfway and third round stages and, while he had a mid-round jitter on Sunday, he showed great composure to force a play-off that he won after the third visit to the 18th.
Lowry, who was engulfed by ecstatic Irish spectators when he sank the winning putt, becomes just the third amateur to win a European title.
Lowry, who could not accept the first prize of nearly 500,000 euros (US$670,000) because of his amateur status, is set to decide whether to turn professional.
Because of Lowry’s amateur status, Rock still took the first prize and with it moved into the top 10 on The Race to Dubai.
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