OCHOA WINS BY ELEVEN SHOTS
FROM SORENSTAM IN SINGAPORE
Women's British Open champion Lorena Ochoa from Mexico achieved one of the biggest-margin wins in an LPGA Tour event in recent years when She won the inaugural HSBC Women's Champions Tournament by 11 shots at the HSBC Women's Champions Tournament at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.
The course is 6,547yd long with a par of 72.
Ochoa, 26, led from start to finished with rounds of 66, 65, 69 and 68 for a 20-under-par total of 268 to collect the $300,000 first place prize.
Annika Sorenstam, the player she displaced as World No 1, came second with 71, 67, 70 and 71 for 279.
Ochoa gains entrance into the LPGA's season-ending ADT Championship, a tournament she won last season, and for the third straight year the opportunity to win a historic $1 million.
“It's a fantastic week,” said Ochoa, who now has 18 career wins and over $10.7 million in earnings since joining the LPGA Tour in 2003.
“Starting on Thursday, the first two days, pretty low rounds, and on the weekend I wasn't as good with the putter but I managed to shoot under par every day.”
Ochoa started off hot despite a weather delay that halted play at 10:52 a.m. – just 12 minutes after she began. Nearly an hour passed before players returned to the course, where she rolled in birdie putts from 20 and five feet on holes two and three.
Play was delayed twice more throughout the afternoon because of a combination of lightning, rain and unplayable course conditions, but Ochoa managed to escape unscathed. She added a third birdie on the ninth hole and a fourth on hole 16, a driveable par-4 where she got up-and-down from a greenside bunker.
“I was able to keep (my patience) every time they called us off, just not get mad, so I was like okay, try to be positive about it, one more time,” said Ochoa. “I ate a couple times, they had good food, and I was just trying to relax.”
Ochoa, the 2007 Rolex Player of the Year and Vare Trophy recipient, won eight times on the LPGA Tour last season and took over the top spot in the Rolex Rankings from Annika Sorenstam, with whom she played in the final group on Sunday.
While World No 1 Ochoa coasted to a victory, Sorenstam and Paula Creamer, No 2 and No 5 in the Rolex Rankings, respectively, kept things interesting in the battle for second place. Both winners already this season, the pair dueled until the back nine where Sorenstam pulled away with birdies on holes 13 and 16 to finish the day the week at nine-under-par (71-67-70-71) 279. Creamer ended her stay in Singapore at seven-under-par (67-71-70-73 281) to edge Solheim Cup team-mate Laura Diaz (70-71-70-71-283) by one stroke for third place.
Catriona Matthew finished joint 18th on 289 after closing on 284.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
268 Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 66 65 69 68
279 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 71 67 70 71
281 Paula Creamer 67 71 70 73
282 Laura Diaz 70 71 70 71
283 Stacy Prammanasudh 70 69 73 71, Karrie Webb (Aus) 69 70 70 74
284 Ji-Yai Shin (Kor) 73 69 70 72
285 In Kyung Kim (Kor) 68 70 74 73, Morgan Pressel 70 71 73 71, Christina Kim 73 71 73 68
286 Lindsey Wright (Aus) 76 70 74 66
287 Angela Stanford 73 69 72 73, Hwa seon Lee (Kor) 73 75 69 70
288 Natalie Gulbis 72 68 75 73, Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 73 72 74 69, Birdie Kim (Kor) 72 71 71 74, Na Zhang (Chn) 70 74 75 69
289 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 67 74 77 71, Jimin Kang (Kor) 73 69 76 71, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 74 72 69 74, Diana D'Alessio 72 71 76 70, Pat Hurst 70 71 73 75
290 Katherine Hull (Aus) 73 70 78 69, Jeong Jang (Kor) 73 72 76 69
291 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 68 72 75 76, Juli Inkster 74 74 74 69, Jin Joo Hong (Kor) 74 74 73 70, Alena Sharp 75 74 69 73, Sarah Lee 70 71 76 74
292 Meaghan Francella 71 74 75 72, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 73 70 75 74, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 72 71 75 74, Janice Moodie (Sco) 74 76 71 71
293 Meena Lee (Kor) 73 74 72 74, Karin Sjodin (Swe) 72 73 71 77, In-Bee Park (Kor) 75 70 71 77, Miho Koga (Jpn) 73 71 78 71
294 Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 77 68 77 72, Young Kim (Kor) 77 75 71 71, Angela Park 70 74 77 73, Silvia Cavalleri (Ita) 70 71 74 79, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 73 72 73 76, Nicole Castrale 75 71 74 74
295 Heather Young 72 77 74 72, Becky Morgan (Wal) 76 73 73 73, Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 73 72 73 77, Charlotte Mayorkas 72 75 76 72, Akane Iijima (Jpn) 74 73 75 73
296 Linda Wessberg (Swe) 68 71 81 76, Brittany Lang 74 71 75 76
297 Teresa Lu (Tai) 74 72 76 75, Reilley Rankin 71 74 71 81
298 Gloria Park (Kor) 70 79 75 74, Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor) 72 72 75 79, Brittany Lincicome 74 74 79 71, Amy Hung (Tha) 80 68 77 73
299 Il Mi Chung (Kor) 76 75 72 76, Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 74 73 72 80
300 Virada Nirapathpongporn (Tha) 72 76 77 75, Giulia Sergas (Ita) 73 76 72 79
301 Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 69 77 79 76, Sherri Steinhauer 75 72 75 79, Karine Icher (Fr) 72 72 79 78
302 Carri Wood 77 72 76 77, Lisa Hall (Eng) 75 73 78 76
303 Na On Min (Jpn) 70 76 81 76
304 Julieta Granada (Par) 78 75 78 73
305 Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 78 77 70 80
306 Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 72 76 81 77, Emily Bastel 80 74 75 77
308 Beth Bader 78 76 80 74
310 Siew-Ai Lim (Mal) 81 76 73 80
317 Da-ye Na (Kor) 85 76 79 77
319 Amelia Yong (Sin) 77 76 80 86
FROM SORENSTAM IN SINGAPORE
Women's British Open champion Lorena Ochoa from Mexico achieved one of the biggest-margin wins in an LPGA Tour event in recent years when She won the inaugural HSBC Women's Champions Tournament by 11 shots at the HSBC Women's Champions Tournament at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore.
The course is 6,547yd long with a par of 72.
Ochoa, 26, led from start to finished with rounds of 66, 65, 69 and 68 for a 20-under-par total of 268 to collect the $300,000 first place prize.
Annika Sorenstam, the player she displaced as World No 1, came second with 71, 67, 70 and 71 for 279.
Ochoa gains entrance into the LPGA's season-ending ADT Championship, a tournament she won last season, and for the third straight year the opportunity to win a historic $1 million.
“It's a fantastic week,” said Ochoa, who now has 18 career wins and over $10.7 million in earnings since joining the LPGA Tour in 2003.
“Starting on Thursday, the first two days, pretty low rounds, and on the weekend I wasn't as good with the putter but I managed to shoot under par every day.”
Ochoa started off hot despite a weather delay that halted play at 10:52 a.m. – just 12 minutes after she began. Nearly an hour passed before players returned to the course, where she rolled in birdie putts from 20 and five feet on holes two and three.
Play was delayed twice more throughout the afternoon because of a combination of lightning, rain and unplayable course conditions, but Ochoa managed to escape unscathed. She added a third birdie on the ninth hole and a fourth on hole 16, a driveable par-4 where she got up-and-down from a greenside bunker.
“I was able to keep (my patience) every time they called us off, just not get mad, so I was like okay, try to be positive about it, one more time,” said Ochoa. “I ate a couple times, they had good food, and I was just trying to relax.”
Ochoa, the 2007 Rolex Player of the Year and Vare Trophy recipient, won eight times on the LPGA Tour last season and took over the top spot in the Rolex Rankings from Annika Sorenstam, with whom she played in the final group on Sunday.
While World No 1 Ochoa coasted to a victory, Sorenstam and Paula Creamer, No 2 and No 5 in the Rolex Rankings, respectively, kept things interesting in the battle for second place. Both winners already this season, the pair dueled until the back nine where Sorenstam pulled away with birdies on holes 13 and 16 to finish the day the week at nine-under-par (71-67-70-71) 279. Creamer ended her stay in Singapore at seven-under-par (67-71-70-73 281) to edge Solheim Cup team-mate Laura Diaz (70-71-70-71-283) by one stroke for third place.
Catriona Matthew finished joint 18th on 289 after closing on 284.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
268 Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 66 65 69 68
279 Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 71 67 70 71
281 Paula Creamer 67 71 70 73
282 Laura Diaz 70 71 70 71
283 Stacy Prammanasudh 70 69 73 71, Karrie Webb (Aus) 69 70 70 74
284 Ji-Yai Shin (Kor) 73 69 70 72
285 In Kyung Kim (Kor) 68 70 74 73, Morgan Pressel 70 71 73 71, Christina Kim 73 71 73 68
286 Lindsey Wright (Aus) 76 70 74 66
287 Angela Stanford 73 69 72 73, Hwa seon Lee (Kor) 73 75 69 70
288 Natalie Gulbis 72 68 75 73, Na Yeon Choi (Kor) 73 72 74 69, Birdie Kim (Kor) 72 71 71 74, Na Zhang (Chn) 70 74 75 69
289 Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 67 74 77 71, Jimin Kang (Kor) 73 69 76 71, Catriona Matthew (Sco) 74 72 69 74, Diana D'Alessio 72 71 76 70, Pat Hurst 70 71 73 75
290 Katherine Hull (Aus) 73 70 78 69, Jeong Jang (Kor) 73 72 76 69
291 Jee Young Lee (Kor) 68 72 75 76, Juli Inkster 74 74 74 69, Jin Joo Hong (Kor) 74 74 73 70, Alena Sharp 75 74 69 73, Sarah Lee 70 71 76 74
292 Meaghan Francella 71 74 75 72, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 73 70 75 74, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 72 71 75 74, Janice Moodie (Sco) 74 76 71 71
293 Meena Lee (Kor) 73 74 72 74, Karin Sjodin (Swe) 72 73 71 77, In-Bee Park (Kor) 75 70 71 77, Miho Koga (Jpn) 73 71 78 71
294 Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 77 68 77 72, Young Kim (Kor) 77 75 71 71, Angela Park 70 74 77 73, Silvia Cavalleri (Ita) 70 71 74 79, Mhairi McKay (Sco) 73 72 73 76, Nicole Castrale 75 71 74 74
295 Heather Young 72 77 74 72, Becky Morgan (Wal) 76 73 73 73, Eun Hee Ji (Kor) 73 72 73 77, Charlotte Mayorkas 72 75 76 72, Akane Iijima (Jpn) 74 73 75 73
296 Linda Wessberg (Swe) 68 71 81 76, Brittany Lang 74 71 75 76
297 Teresa Lu (Tai) 74 72 76 75, Reilley Rankin 71 74 71 81
298 Gloria Park (Kor) 70 79 75 74, Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor) 72 72 75 79, Brittany Lincicome 74 74 79 71, Amy Hung (Tha) 80 68 77 73
299 Il Mi Chung (Kor) 76 75 72 76, Momoko Ueda (Jpn) 74 73 72 80
300 Virada Nirapathpongporn (Tha) 72 76 77 75, Giulia Sergas (Ita) 73 76 72 79
301 Ashleigh Simon (Rsa) 69 77 79 76, Sherri Steinhauer 75 72 75 79, Karine Icher (Fr) 72 72 79 78
302 Carri Wood 77 72 76 77, Lisa Hall (Eng) 75 73 78 76
303 Na On Min (Jpn) 70 76 81 76
304 Julieta Granada (Par) 78 75 78 73
305 Hye Jung Choi (Kor) 78 77 70 80
306 Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 72 76 81 77, Emily Bastel 80 74 75 77
308 Beth Bader 78 76 80 74
310 Siew-Ai Lim (Mal) 81 76 73 80
317 Da-ye Na (Kor) 85 76 79 77
319 Amelia Yong (Sin) 77 76 80 86
Labels: Pro Ladies
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