A SWEDE COMEBACK SORENSTAM RALLIES FROM 10 STROKES DOWN TO FORGE PLAYOFF WIN IN RECORD STYLE.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer Annika Sorenstam needed another miracle and she got it - along with three more LPGA LPGA abbr. Ladies Professional Golf Association records. Sorenstam, who shot a miraculous 59 last month in Phoenix for the lowest score ever in women's professional golf, set LPGA history again Saturday by making up 10 strokes in the final round to win the Office Depot Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) is one of the world's leading suppliers of office products and services. The Company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, hosted by Amy Alcott Amy Alcott (born February 22, 1956) is an American professional golfer. Alcott was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She wasted little time establishing herself on the competitive scene, winning the 1973 United States Girls Junior Amateur Golf Championship. . Her final-round 66, assisted by three closing bogeys by near-tournament- long-leader Pat Hurst Pat Hurst (born May 23, 1969) is an American golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. Hurst's father is American and her mother is originally from Japan. She was born in San Leandro, California and raised in California. , got Sorenstam into a playoff she won on the first hole at 6,349-yard, par-72 Wilshire Country Club. ``Wow! It's unbelievable. I asked for a miracle and it came,'' Sorenstam said after defeating Mi Hyum Kim in Kim In (김인, 金寅 born November 23, 1943) is a professional Go player. Biography Kim In became a professional in 1958 when he was 15.[3] He was a student at the legendary Minoru Kitani school in 1962 and left to return home a year later. the playoff to complete a comeback that had her overtaking nine players in the final round. The last she caught was Kim, who had qualified with the best round of the tournament - a bogeyless 65 that included seven birdies and brought her back from 11 strokes off the lead at the start of the day. Kim's final birdie, after a 5-iron shot to within a foot of the cup on the par-3, 155-yard 18th hole, got Kim into the playoff on that same hole. ``My caddie told me to shoot 65 and now I know what he meant,'' said Kim, the 1999 LPGA Rookie of the Year Rookie of the Year may refer to:
runner-up finish finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the at Wilshire. Kim had Sorenstam worried in the playoff even after pulling a tee shot into the greenside green·side adj. Sports Situated beside a putting green: a greenside bunker. Adj. 1. gallery following Sorenstam's tee shot to within 14 feet of the flagstick flag·stick n. A removable pole with a flag marking the placement of each hole on the putting greens of a golf course. . ``Kimmie has one of the best short games on the tour and she's definitely one of the best putters,'' Sorenstam said. ``I thought if she could get her chip shot onto the green, she could dunk it in for a par.'' But Kim took two chips to reach the green, and Sorenstam two-putted for an LPGA record-tying fourth consecutive victory. Her improbable comeback - in which she trailed by eight strokes with 10 holes to play and was three down as she teed off on No. 18 - tied Hall of Famers Mickey Wright Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright (born February 14, 1935) is an American professional golfer. Wright was born in San Diego, California. She won 82 events on the LPGA Tour, which puts her second on the all time win list behind Kathy Whitworth, who won 88 times. and Kathy Whitworth Kathy Whitworth (born September 27, 1939 in Monahans, Texas) is an American professional golfer. Throughout her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else has won on either the LPGA Tour or the PGA Tour. for consecutive wins. Sorenstam's first-place check for $120,000 also made her the all-time money winner on the women's tour with $6,957,044. That gives her nine LPGA records in a three-tournament stretch that started with her breaking marks for 9-, 18-, 36-, 54- and 72-hole scoring totals and single-round birdies in last month's Standard Register Ping at Phoenix. That week, the Swede swede: see turnip. started her second round with 12 birdies in her first 13 holes at par-72 Moon Valley Country Club, then got the tour-record 13th birdie on her 17th hole to get the chance at 59. Saturday morning at Wilshire, some were wondering if another 59 would be enough for Sorenstam to overtake Hurst, who had birdied her first hole of the tournament Thursday and never trailed until her final putt of the 54-hole competition. But Hurst, by far the hottest player in the tournament through the first two rounds, could never regain the form that had produced 16 birdies in her first 36 holes. On Saturday, she hit just five of 14 fairways, reached only 9 of 18 greens in regulation and bogeyed six of her last 10 holes - including the final three. ``It was awful,'' she said. ``Nobody wants this. I three-putted 16 and 17 and you just can't do that and win. All day, I was hitting it left in the trees.'' Hurst's final breakdown started just when it appeared Sorenstam had eliminated herself from contention with a 17th-hole bogey. That dropped her to 5 under par as Hurst was 8-under and hitting her approach shot to No. 16 from the middle of the fairway. But Hurst three-putted that green from 5 feet and then three-putted from off the fringe on No. 17 after Sorenstam had sank a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 to finish 6-under. Hurst went to the 18th tee at 6-under, needing a birdie to win and par to get in a playoff. But she drove into one of the five bunkers surrounding that par-3 finishing hole and couldn't blast out to closer than 10 feet, from where she missed her par putt. ``I didn't think I was out of it until that last putt,'' said Hurst, who said she had never been in that kind of a situation before, ``and I don't think I want to be again.'' Sorenstam could empathize em·pa·thize v. To feel empathy in relation to another person. , saying she felt she had lost her chance after her bogey on No. 17, when she hit her approach shot long, chunked a chip and missed a downhill par putt. ``I felt at the time I was too far away (to contend),'' she said. ``Then, I birdied 18 and thought that maybe I still have a chance.'' She remembered thinking she was glad she didn't have to trade places at that point with Hurst. ``I know how Pat feels,'' Sorenstam said. ``I've done it before. And I've felt the pressure she's felt. When you're looking at the leaderboard lead·er·board n. A board that displays the leaders in a competition. leaderboard Noun a board displaying the current scores of the leading competitors, esp in a golf tournament , playing the last few holes is not easy.'' SORENSTAM'S MARCH March 11: Won the Welch's/Circle K Championship in Tucson, Ariz., with a 23-under-par, six-stroke triumph. March 18: Won the Standard Register Ping in Phoenix with a 27-under-par, two-stroke triumph. That included the record-setting 59 in the second round. March 25: Won the Nabisco Championship major event in Rancho Mirage with a 7-under-par, two-stroke triumph. April 14: Won The Office Depot at Wilshire Country Club in a playoff against Mi Hyun Kim Mi Hyun Kim (born in Inchon on 13 January 1977) is a professional golfer from South Korea. She turned professional in 1996 and won 11 events on the LPGA of Korea Tour (KLPGA) between 1996 and 1999. In 1999, she joined the LPGA Tour and was named was Rookie of the Year that year. , after finishing at 6-under-par. CAPTION(S): 4 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Pat Hurst hangs her head after missing a putt for par and a chance for the playoff. (2 -- color) no caption (Annika Sorenstam holding up four fingers) (3 -- color) Annika Sorenstam raises her fist after sinking a birdie on the 16th hole en route to her dramatic victory. (4) Making up 10 strokes in the final round, Annika Sorenstam shot a 66 Saturday. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer Box: SORENSTAM'S MARCH (see text) |
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