Sorenstam, Kane miss their chances

Lorie Kane set a tournament record by shooting 63on the final round.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- In one of the most stirring finishes to the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic, Annika Sorenstam ran out of steam.
Even the best players in the world need a break sometimes. Sorenstam proved that Sunday at Squaw Creek Country Club.
"I don't think I've been this tired in my life," said Sorenstam, moments after Rachel Teske's birdie on the third playoff hole ended a four-way competition.
"My knees have been shaking the last three hours," Sorenstam added. "I'm ready to take a break."
Busy month
Sorenstam came into the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic having won back-to-back tournaments in the previous two weeks. Her 44th and 45th career victories followed her much-publicized appearance on the PGA Tour.
"I'm worn out," she said. "I normally don't play four weeks in a row. This month has been a career for a lot of people."
One stroke behind to start the final round Sunday, Sorenstam played her way into the lead, getting to 12-under-par for the tournament with a birdie at the par-3 ninth.
Trouble was, Sorenstam couldn't score any lower. She had numerous opportunities on the back side to take the outright lead but could never get her putts to drop.
After missing an 8-foot putt for birdie on the 18th, Sorenstam was forced into a playoff with Lorie Kane, Jennifer Rosales and Teske.
"I thought Annika would have made birdie somewhere," Kane said of the popular Swede. "But 16, 17 and 18 are not the easiest finishing holes."
Sorenstam's fatigue may have contributed to her missed putts. She started to feel it most on the 11th hole, and responded by consuming carrots, bananas and energy bars.
"I felt like I walked straight into a wall," she said. "I tried to save my energy. I was mentally tired, too. I was trying not to think about other things."
Sorenstam claimed she wouldn't pick up a golf club for five or six days.
Raising Kane
Like Sorenstam, Kane had her chances down the stretch to take the outright lead. She missed opportunities on the final two holes, with birdie putts grazing the edge of the cup.
"My putts lipped out on both of those holes," Kane said. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be standing here" talking about the playoff.
When the final round began, Kane wasn't considered a serious threat, but she shot up the leaderboard in a hurry with a tournament-record 63.
"I'm encouraged with everything I've done," she said. "I hit some key shots and made some putts, especially on the backside."
Kane was forced to wait for eight groups to finish before the playoff began, but she did a remarkable job rallying from difficult predicaments.
"In ideal situations, you would like to have gone right back out there," said Kane, who spent her time in the clubhouse watching the U.S. Open.
On the first playoff hole, played at the 18th, Kane mis-hit her second shot from the rough, and it fell well short of the green.
"The ball flew in there [on the drive] and just plugged, but that wasn't the end of it," she said.
Kane saved par there, added another par on the second playoff hole -- at No. 10 -- and saved par again, back at the 18th, after hitting her drive into a sand trap.
"The greens were very bumpy, so you couldn't be overly aggressive," she said. "I had my chances; I just didn't get it done."
richesson@vindy.com