KARRIE WEBB BLOWS LEAD OVER FINAL SINGAPORE HOLES
CREAMER BEATS MUNOZ IN PLAY-OFF
American Paul Creamer beat Spain's Azahara Munoz with an eagle to a birdie at the second hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the Honda Classic after a fluctuating final day in Singapore.
Creamer, 27, from California but based at Windermere, Florida these days, sank a 75ft eagle putt to achieve her 10th career LPGA Tour win, ending a 75-event winless drought since the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open.
Long-time leader Karrie Webb, still three strokes ahead with nine holes to play, finished third after a final-round of 74.
Catriona Matthew and Jodi Ewart Shadoff did not have a good tournament. They finished T45 on 295, Jodi closing with a 73 and Catriona 74. They both earnmed $5,782, compared with the $210,000 which went to winner Paula Creamer
“It
might be one of my favourite wins,” said Creamer.
"It's been almost three years since the last one and you know, so much
has happened since then .
"It has been coming and it just shows you perseverance pays.
That's why I love the game. I work hard for this reason. And holding
that trophy, gosh, it was so nice.”
Creamer
shot a 3-under 69 on Sunday to force the playoff with Munoz who
finished with a 2-under 70. The duo finished atop the leaderboard
at 10-under par.
She said she had flashbacks to the 2012 Kingsmill
Championship where she lost in a nine-hole sudden-death playoff to Jiyai
Shin and promised herself she would not let it go that long again.
It could have been a three-player playoff with Hall of Famer Karrie Webb
who had a late round collapse to fall out of contention.
Webb bogeyed three of her final six holes including the par 5 18th
hole where she hit the lip of a fairway bunker. She had a three-shot
lead after seven holes and said some bad decisions down the stretch put
her in trouble spots. The 20-year LPGA
Tour veteran finished with a 2-over 74 and one shot out of the playoff.
“Just not a lot of good decisions,” said Webb. “I mean, bad swing on 15 but ‑‑ just bad decisions.
I shouldn't have probably
hit 3‑wood off 16 just because I missed with that club for some reason
this week.
"I've had that club in my bag for ten years and it's going
left, so might need to look at a different 3‑wood I think. Just
shouldn't have hit
3‑wood off there but I made a good par.”
Webb
said she didn’t think it was the pressure that got to her but there
were some lessons to be learned from club selections down the
stretch. Webb already has a win this year, two weeks ago at the ISPS
Handa Women’s Australian Open.
“Two
weeks ago I handled the pressure well and made very good decisions
coming down the stretch and I made all the
putts I needed to make,” said Webb. “It just sometimes things just go your
way and other times they don't. Doesn't feel great at the moment.
"There's lessons to be learned
from the decisions made. Even if you learn those lessons, sometimes
you're going to repeat in that situation. I've doubled
the last to lose a tournament to Se Ri Pak before."
Creamer and Munoz both parred the first playoff hole and Creamer said she did not hesitate to go for the green while
Munoz laid up.
“Aza
has been playing great and I knew she was not going to make a mistake,
and I knew someone was going to have
to make a birdie,” said Creamer.
“It's a tough pin placement and
decided to lay upthe second time in the playoff. I had a number and
I trusted it, but you know, it's one of those things that, would you do
it again, would you not; of course I would do
what I did.”
“Between
a 5‑wood and a 3‑wood, it's so fast above the pin but you've got to
carry those bunkers,” said Creamer.
“I weaved it right through the middle of it hit it a little bit thin
out in the fairway. But I knew I had enough club and it would have been
fine, and the putt, just, what do you do.”
Creamer said the win was even more special to share with close friends who stayed to watch her finish. Morgan Pressel,
Brittany Lang, Cristie Kerr and Irene Coe were the first ones along with caddie, Colin Cann to congratulate her.
“My
friends were next to No. 9 across, and Morgan was there in front of my
best friends and Brittany and Cristie
and Irene, they are all just standing over there,” said Creamer.
“I
literally looked right at them, because as a golfer, you know, things
happen for reasons, and when it went in, it's so neat to have your
friends there, and of course Colin, he was just shaking
his head.
"I could stand there all day and not sink that putt again!"
"I could stand there all day and not sink that putt again!"
par 288 (4x72), prizemoney in US dollars
278 Paula Creamer (USA) 67 73 69 69, Azahara Munoz (Spain) 69 72 67 70 (Creamer won play-off at second extra hole). Creamer $210,000; Munoz $133,681
279 Karrie Webb (Australia) 66 69 70 74 ($96,976)
281 So Yeon Ryu (S Korea) 71 71 73 66, Inbee Park (S Korea) 70 72 71 68, Suzann Pettersen (Norway) 71 70 70 70, Morgan Pressel (USA) 781 69 70 71, Angela Stanford (USA) 68 69 69 75 ($52,477 each)
283 Michelle Wie (USA) 73 71 69 70, Tessa Lu (Taiwan) 68 70 70 75 ($31,106 each).
SELECTED OTHER SCORES
286 Lydia Ko (NZ) 73 69 73 71 (15th) ($21,224)
287 Sandra Gal (Germany) 75 76 68 68 (£17,956)
293 Stacy Lewis (USA) 75 72 73 73 (T40) ($7,173)
295 Jodi Ewart Shadoff (England) 77 75 70 73, Catriona Matthew (Scotland) 73 77 71 74 (T45) ($5,782 each).
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posted by Colin |
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