Lorena Ochoa erased a three-shot deficit over the last two holes of regulation, then beat South Korean rookie In-Kyung Kim in a playoff to win the Wegmans LPGA yesterday in Pittsford, N.Y.
Ochoa closed with a 1-over-par 73 for an
8-under 280 total on the Locust Hill course and won with a par on the second playoff hole. She eagled the par-5 No. 17 and got even on the last hole when Kim missed a 4-foot putt for par.
"It was a really good thing -- not the beginning of the day but the end of the day," Ochoa said. "I just never lost my hope."
It was Ochoa's first playoff win in five attempts. She earned $270,000 and tops the season money list at $1.52 million, almost a half-million dollars more than her nearest rival, Suzann Pettersen of Norway.
The 19-year-old Kim, who closed with a 72, has made steady progress. Her previous best finish was a tie for fourth in the Corning Classic last month. She missed the cut in four of her first six outings but stayed through the weekend in the past six, tying for 21st at the LPGA Championship two weeks ago.
"I can cry right now, but I'm not going to cry for this," Kim said. "I played really tight with the No. 1 player, and I'll take that experience. Next time, I'm never going to let it go."
South Korean compatriot Mi Hyun Kim, an eight-time tour winner, drove behind trees to finish with a bogey and drop into third place at
7 under.
Ochoa rallies, then wins playoff
PGA power rankings
By Michael Arkush
Despite a pretty tight leaderboard, with Phil Mickelson out of action and Tiger Woods out of contention, the Memorial Tournament wasn't very momentous. Except, of course, for K.J. Choi, who played steady down the stretch to capture his fifth tour victory.
Here are this week's rankings, which place a heavy emphasis on performance over the last month.
1. Tiger Woods – After a lackluster three days in Ohio, his final-round 67 served notice that he'll be ready for Oakmont. Did anyone ever doubt it?
2. Phil Mickelson – His wrist injury took some of the drama out of Jack's event, but the real drama begins next week: What will Phil do for an encore?
3 Rory Sabbatini – After his sensational play in recent months, it will be fascinating to see how Sabbatini performs at the Open … and what he says.
4. Vijay Singh – He also shot a 67 on Sunday, and will be looking for his first major since the 2004 PGA.
5. K.J. Choi – A win against a top-notch field at the Memorial gives him an automatic bump even though it was his first Top 10 since April.
6. Zach Johnson – He's the only player in the game with a chance at the Grand Slam this year.
7. Adam Scott – He was in great position at the Memorial until a few errant shots cost him on the back nine.
8. Rod Pampling – Since the Masters, this unheralded Aussie has recorded Top 20s in five of his six starts.
9. Stewart Cink – Soon enough, Cink, with three Top 5s in his last five appearances, will return to the winner's circle.
10. Jim Furyk – Furyk was consistent at Muirfield Village, showing why he's on the short list of Open favorites.
Tim Clark had the perfect remedy
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
FORT WORTH, Texas – Tim Clark had the perfect remedy to overcome a stiff neck and an extended day of golf: anti-inflammatory medicine and a steady dose of fairways and greens.
Clark had to play the back nine of his opening round Friday, then got only a brief break before a bogey-free 6-under 64 in a second round in which he didn’t miss a fairway or a green.
"It certainly makes it easier to get around," said Clark, who at 11 under had a one-stroke lead over Arron Oberholser (66) in the rain-soaked Colonial.
"This could be my last week for a while. I'm going to take some time off to heal up. I want to end on a good note."
The South African was among 57 players – exactly half the 114-player Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial field – who had to finish their first rounds Friday morning and then go right back out for 18 more holes.
The 36-hole cut, projected to be under par for the first time in the 61 years at Colonial, won't be made until the second round is completed Saturday morning. There were 27 players still on the course when play was suspended Friday because of darkness.
Ben Curtis (67), Jim Furyk (66) and Nathan Green (66) were in at 9-under 131, with Alex Cejka (65), Kevin Na (69) and first-round leader Anthony Kim (69) at 8 under.
Clark’s 11-under 129 total was only one shot off the 36-hole tournament record held by Kenny Perry, who opened with rounds of 65 and 63 on way to winning his second Colonial title in 2005.
The first-round scoring average of 69.342 was the lowest at the Colonial in the 25 years since the PGA Tour starting keeping such statistics. There were 63 rounds under par in the first round, and already 53 more in the suspended second round.
"The golf course is just not playing itself right now," said Furyk, who at No. 3 in the world ranking is the only of the top 12 players at Colonial.
Instead of firm and fast as usual, rain Thursday and Friday soften things. Balls aren’t shooting through the fairways or bounding off sun-baked greens at Hogan’s Alley, a traditional tree-lined layout that covers 7,054 yards.
"A little bit slower than they normally are," Curtis said. "A little bit softer and they’re receptive. That is the reason why the scores are the way they are. This place usually is rock hard and firm."
The wet grass did make the heavy rough tougher, which Furyk found at the hard way.
On the 611-yard 11th while finishing his first round Friday, Furyk hit his tee shot into the left rough, then pulled a 5-iron that didn’t get back in the fairway on the course’s longest hole. He then had to hack a shot out of "an awful lie" and three-putted to finish with a double bogey.
But he rebounded with a quick birdie at the 417-yard 12th hole.
"I hit a wedge in there close," Furyk said. "It took a little sting out of it."
Clark has tried to play through the muscular and joint stiffness in his neck that has bothered him on and off since last summer.
This is only his eighth PGA Tour event this year, and the South African's best finish was 13th at the Masters, where he was tied for the 36-hole lead. He was better than 62nd only one other tournament, withdrew from the Wachovia and had a closing 81 at The Players Championship.
"That wasn’t any fun at all," Clark said. "I'm not doing myself any favors, not doing my confidence much good either. ... It's time for me to really get it sorted out"
But it will have to wait until at least after this weekend, though he hasn't completely ruled out playing in the Memorial next week.
Clark felt good Friday after 11 birdies with only one bogey in his 27 holes, and never noticed the neck. After shooting under 70 only once in his first 20 rounds this season, he finished two sub-70 rounds in one day.
"I certainly wasn't expecting it," said Clark, who has never won on tour. “The adrenaline was going at the end, and I almost had to calm myself down a bit.”
After missing the last two cuts, and six of nine this season, Cejka was "a little bit scared" coming to the tight Colonial. But his only two bogeys so far came on the last four holes, to go along with a closing birdie.
"I just somehow managed to play well 36 holes," Cejka said. "Sometimes you don’t expect it."
Wie to play PGA Tour again
EAST MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Michelle Wie accepted a sponsor's exemption Tuesday to play in the John Deere Classic for the third straight year, continuing her effort to make the cut in a men's event.
Wie, who is to graduate from high school next week, has not made the cut in six starts on the PGA Tour. A year ago at the John Deere Classic, she opened with a 77 and withdrew in the middle of the second round with heat exhaustion.
The John Deere Classic will be played July 12-15 at TPC Deere Run.
"She is a wonderful talent who attracts a tremendous amount of interest among traditional and nontraditional golf fans, which helps broaden the game's appeal, especially among young people," tournament director Clair Peterson said.
Wie has not played since missing the cut by 14 shots at the Sony Open in January. She played that week with an injured right wrist, then injured her left wrist a short time later when she fell while running.
She is to play her first LPGA Tour event of the year next week at the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina.
Skepticism about Wie's scheduling increased late last year when she finished last in consecutive weeks on the European Tour and the PGA Tour, and was next to last at the Casio World Open in Japan. She has failed to break 70 in her last 16 rounds, including two LPGA Tour events.
The John Deere Classic is where she had her best chance to make the cut on the PGA Tour. Two years ago, she was one shot above the cut line until making a double bogey on her 15th hole and a bogey on the 16th to miss the cut by two shots.
"I am really happy to be returning to the John Deere Classic," Wie said. "The people of the Quad Cities have supported me and rooted for me like no other."
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