STANFORD WINS FOUR-WAY PLAY-OFF FOR TITLE IN SINGAPORE

FROM THE TOURNAMENT WEBSITE

American Angela Stanford drove from the first tee at 10.09am Singapore time today and holed her last putt eight hours later to shake off Jenny Shin at the third play-off hole, the 414 yards 18th, in a four-way play for the 2012 HsBC Women's Champions title and a cheque for $210,000.

All told, Angela, pictured right, courtesy Getty Images(c), had had four putts for what was her fifth LPGA Tour victory, the first of them a six-footer at the 72nd.

In the immediate aftermath, the 34-year-old Stanford thought of home and the people who had helped her throughout her career but, after so long a day, all she could say amid her tears was a mighty relieved, "It's so cool." 

Stanford, Shin and Katie Futcher, co-leaders on Saturday night, were a hole away from the clubhouse when the mother and father of all electrical storms struck and play was suspended for an hour and a half. 

At that point, Shin was shaping for victory. The 19-year-old was 12 under to Stanford's 11 under and was dripping with confidence. Yet her lack of experience was such that everyone worried for her over the break, especially when she would have known that if she had only played a little faster, she could well have had her first win in the bag before the stoppage.

When they returned, she made a double-bogey 6 via the jungle on the left and Stanford a bogey 5 to pave the way for what was a four-way play-off involving Shanshan Feng and Na Yeon Choi, all on 10-under-par 278 for the regulation 72 holes.

 Feng dropped out at the first extra hole and Choi at the second to leave Stanford and Shin to go it alone at the third time of asking. It was Shin's second shot which did the damage at the third extra hole. It fell away short and left and she was left having to chip from the actual putting surface to avoid a grassy indent. 

Earlier in the day, England's Karen Stupples had holed with her wedge from much the same place but Shin was not so lucky, leaving herself with a three-and-a-half footer.

All day, she had putted quite beautifully but now she missed. 

Stanford, who would have been saying to herself that, by the law of averages, she had to hole a putt on that green at some point, duly did. Stanford's golf - she had rounds of 66, 70,71 and 71 - was a model of consistency all week. Though she claims that she is not the most patient of individuals, she was never less than composed over what was a seemingly-never ending last day.

 As the talented Futcher had said of her earlier in the week, "No one grinds it out like Angela..." 

Stanford's caddie, too, had stressed the need to keep grinding and, when they had to keep playing the difficult 18th over and over, they realised it would not necessarily take a birdie to win. 

"It was about making sure you stayed in it, about trying to be the last man standing."

Stanford, the first American to win this prestigious title, could not have been more complimentary about the teenage Shin. 

"I was really impressed with her demeanour. She's going to have an amazing career. 

Yani Tseng, who finished fifth, a shot away from joining the play-off quartet, would have been kicking herself as she headed to the airport. After tearing to the turn in a five-under-par 31, she was in a share of the lead.

The 11th was her downfall. Though she was lucky enough to get two free drops, one from a plugged lie above a bunker and one from a TV tower, she amassed a 6.

Coming home, she had chance after chance of getting back on track, most notably at the 15th and 16th, two easy birdie holes for one of her length and strength. 

She made lacklustre pars at both and then missed the tiddler at the 17th which would have given her a spot in the play-off. 

Tournament leader Jenny Shin (South Korea), needing a par, even a bogey at the last for victory, double bogeyed it while playing partner Stanford, only one shot behind on the 18th tee, bogeyed it in an amazing, nerve-jangling finish.

Karen Stupples finished as the leading British player. She overtook Catriona Matthew with a closing 69 to the Scot's 70.

Stupples earned $20,235 for a T15 on 285, Catriona $16,376 for T18 on 286.

Melissa Reid ($6,262) came 45th on 294 while Laura Davies plumbed the deaths in her final round of 80 for 299 and 55th place. That earned her $4,714.

 ALL THE FINAL TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY
TANAH MERAH COUNTRY CLUB
Purse: $1,400,000.00
Par: 36 36 - 72x4 = 288. Yardage: 6547

POS	NAME	SCORES	TOTAL	TO PAR	OFFICIAL MONEY
T1	Angela Stanford (WNR)	66-70-71-71	278	-10	$210,000
T1	Na Yeon Choi	68-71-71-68	278	-10	$102,564
T1	Shanshan Feng	69-71-69-69	278	-10	$102,564
T1	Jenny Shin	69-67-71-71	278	-10	$102,564
5	Yani Tseng	71-72-67-69	279	-9	$60,780
T6	Ai Miyazato	69-70-73-69	281	-7	$45,677
T6	I.K. Kim	68-72-71-70	281	-7	$45,677
T8	Vicky Hurst	69-73-71-69	282	-6	$33,030
T8	Hee Young Park	71-68-73-70	282	-6	$33,030
T8	Jiyai Shin	70-70-70-72	282	-6	$33,030
T11	So Yeon Ryu	68-73-71-71	283	-5	$26,705
T11	Katie Futcher	69-67-71-76	283	-5	$26,705
T13	Momoko Ueda	68-75-72-69	284	-4	$23,427
T13	Sun Young Yoo	70-70-73-71	284	-4	$23,427
T15	Karen Stupples	72-72-72-69	285	-3	$20,235
T15	Sandra Gal	72-71-71-71	285	-3	$20,235
T15	Ji-Hee Lee	71-69-73-72	285	-3	$20,235
T18	Julieta Granada	70-73-74-69	286	-2	$16,376
T18	Chella Choi	72-70-74-70	286	-2	$16,376
T18	Catriona Matthew	74-70-72-70	286	-2	$16,376
T18	Se Ri Pak	72-72-72-70	286	-2	$16,376
T18	Amy Yang	68-75-73-70	286	-2	$16,376
T18	Stacy Lewis	71-75-68-72	286	-2	$16,376
T18	Azahara Munoz	70-70-74-72	286	-2	$16,376
T25	Suzann Pettersen	73-69-78-67	287	-1	$13,040
T25	Morgan Pressel	74-72-71-70	287	-1	$13,040
T25	Karrie Webb	72-72-73-70	287	-1	$13,040
T25	Maria Hjorth	73-74-69-71	287	-1	$13,040
T25	Inbee Park	70-72-72-73	287	-1	$13,040
30	Kristy McPherson	69-75-73-71	288	E	$11,567
T31	Amanda Blumenherst	73-74-72-70	289	+1	$10,461
T31	Jimin Kang	71-75-71-72	289	+1	$10,461
T31	Brittany Lang	72-70-73-74	289	+1	$10,461
T31	Anna Nordqvist	71-72-71-75	289	+1	$10,461
T35	Cristie Kerr	69-74-77-70	290	+2	$8,878
T35	Meena Lee	72-74-73-71	290	+2	$8,878
T35	Amy Hung	72-74-70-74	290	+2	$8,878
T35	Mika Miyazato	72-70-71-77	290	+2	$8,878
T39	Brittany Lincicome	71-74-76-70	291	+3	$7,662
T39	Natalie Gulbis	78-71-71-71	291	+3	$7,662
T39	Candie Kung	74-74-72-71	291	+3	$7,662
T42	Beatriz Recari	74-73-71-74	292	+4	$6,925
T42	Sophie Gustafson	72-72-73-75	292	+4	$6,925
44	Christel Boeljon	73-75-72-73	293	+5	$6,483
45	Melissa Reid	75-72-74-73	294	+6	$6,262
46	Katherine Hull	74-72-77-72	295	+7	$6,041
T47	Ryann O'Toole	74-79-71-72	296	+8	$5,599
T47	Pornanong Phatlum	71-75-78-72	296	+8	$5,599
T47	Hee-Won Han	70-76-75-75	296	+8	$5,599
T50	Hee Kyung Seo	74-76-73-74	297	+9	$5,083
T50	Wendy Ward	74-72-75-76	297	+9	$5,083
52	Mindy Kim	73-77-75-73	298	+10	$4,862
53	Laura Davies	72-72-75-80	299	+11	$4,714
54	Eun-Hee Ji	72-77-77-74	300	+12	$4,568
55	Tiffany Joh	79-71-75-76	301	+13	$4,420
56	Paige Mackenzie	77-76-75-75	303	+15	$4,272
57	Christina Kim	81-81-71-71	304	+16	$4,126
58	Mina Harigae	77-76-77-78	308	+20	$3,978
59	Michelle Wie	79-81-75-75	310	+22	$3,832
60	*Sock Hwee Koh	82-86-78-79	325	+37
	Song-Hee Kim	79		WD
	Paula Creamer	71-74		WD
	Pat Hurst	72-75		WD