Sorenstam wins LPGA opener
KAHUKU, Hawaii (AP) – Annika Sorenstam won the season-opening SBS Open for her 70th LPGA Tour title and first since September 2006, birdieing two of the last three holes Saturday for a 3-under 69 and two-stroke victory. The 37-year-old Swedish star, coming off an injury-shortened season where she failed to win last year for the first time since her rookie season in 1994, finished with a 10-under 206 total. It also was her second straight win in Hawaii.
Rookie Russy Gulyanamitta (68), Laura Diaz (70) and Jane Park (70) tied for second. Angela Park (69), the 2007 rookie of the year who was assessed a two-stroke penalty, and Japanese rookie Momoko Ueda (71) tied for fifth, three strokes back.
Sorenstam dropped to a knee and shook her fist as she calmly sank a 15-foot downhill putt on the par-4 17th that ended any suspense. She then waved both arms in the air and hugged her caddie after putting for par on the 18th hole.
“It’s been a while,” her caddie said as they hugged.
She has won 47 times when holding the lead going into the final round.
Sorenstam was limited to 13 events last year because of neck and back injuries and had six top-10s finishes, but didn’t add to her trophy collection.
In the first event of 2008, the world’s former No. 1 looked like her old self – relaxed, focused and dominant.
Sorenstam smiled as she walked the fairway on the par-4 16th after hitting a wedge to 4 feet, which she dropped for the outright lead that she wouldn’t lose.
She first went up by two strokes on the par-4 10th by sinking a 14-foot birdie putt, but quickly lost a stroke when her long birdie putt whizzed 8 feet passed the cup on the next hole. She three-putted for her only bogey of the day.
Ueda and Jane Park each birdied to tie Sorenstam for the lead at 8 under. Jane Park made a long putt on No. 15. Seconds later, Ueda rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 14, drawing a roar from the sizable Japanese gallery.
However, no one could keep pace with Sorenstam.
Champions Tour
NAPLES, Fla. – Tom Jenkins moved into position to become the 18th player 60 or older to win a Champions Tour event, shooting an 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead over five players in The ACE Group Classic.
The 60-year-old Jenkins had a 12-under 132 total on the Quail West Golf Club course. He won the last of his seven career titles in the 2006 SAS Championship.
“I’ve been in this position before,” Jenkins said. “It’s about executing the shots. I know at my age it gets tougher and tougher out here.”
Scott Hoch, a Quail West resident coming off a victory last week in Boca Raton, had a 66 to join Nick Price (66), Ron Streck (66), Gary Koch (67) and Peter Jacobsen (68) at 10 under. Chip Beck (66) and Loren Roberts (70) followed at 9 under.
Jenkins, three strokes behind first-round leaders Bruce Fleisher, Roberts, Fuzzy Zoeller and Tom Kite at the start of play, birdied the first two holes. Jenkins added birdies on Nos. 8, 10 and 11, then eagled the 527-yard, par-5 13th.
Jenkins hit a 2-iron from 236 yards to 28 feet and made the putt to overtake Fleisher for the lead. Jenkins followed with a 6-foot birdie putt on the next hole.
“At one point, I was actually thinking about my age there for a brief moment,” he said about the possibility of a 60.
Hoch was asked about the difficulty of winning two weeks in a row.
“It’s hard to do it anywhere,” Hoch said. “I think I did it in Japan in 1982.”
He was paired with Price.
“It’s almost like drafting in NASCAR,” Hoch said. “You kind of push each other along.”
Price is winless on the 50-and-over tour.
“The way I’ve been playing, I don’t even know if I deserve to be out here,” Price said. “It’s been a while since I’ve played this well. Confidence is a very fragile thing. Mine comes from consistent ball-striking.”
Seventy-two-year-old Gary Player bettered his age by two strokes, shooting a 70 for a 2-under total. Player has bettered his age eight times and matched it 10 times in Champions Tour play.
Denis O’Sullivan had a hole-in-one, using a 5-iron from 170 yards on No. 12. He was 2 under after a 74.
Copyright Associated Press 2008