Monday, March 31, 2008
LPGA
SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. — Lorena Ochoa left her pursuers in the desert dust on Sunday to successfully defend her title at the Safeway International with a dominating seven-stroke victory. The 26-year-old sensation, with three big flags from her native Mexico waving in the crowd, shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 22-under 266. She won for the second time in three tries in the young LPGA Tour season. It was the lowest score, by four shots, in the five years the tournament has been held at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club. Ochoa turned the tournament into a rout with birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes, then punctuated her 19th career tour victory with a birdie tap-in on the 18th. The world’s No. 1-ranked female golfer and the LPGA Tour player of the year the past two seasons won eight times last year and has 16 victories her last 53 starts. She was supported by a big crowd, including a man waving a Mexican flag who followed her the entire round. Her would-be competitors faded under a bright blue sky with temperatures in the mid-80s and a brisk easterly wind at the foot of the Superstition Mountains, about 40 miles east of Phoenix. South Korea’s Jee Young Lee, who began the day one shot back, shot an even-par 72 to finish at 15 under. Minea Blomqvist of Finland (66) was third at 14 under, her best LPGA finish.
Champions Tour
PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) — Bernhard Langer won the Ginn Championship for his second Champions Tour victory in three starts, shooting a 1-under 71 in windy conditions for an eight-stroke victory over Lonnie Nielsen and Tim Simpson. Langer had one of three under-par rounds, with the wind off the Atlantic Ocean a sustained 25 mph and the temperature in 50s. The German star finished at 12-under 204 and earned $375,000 for his third victory in 11 career starts on the 50-and-over tour. Langer took the lead on the money list and Charles Schwab Cup points race, supplanting Scott Hoch on both lists and joining Hoch as a multiple winner. Nielsen (77) and Simpson (75) struggled in the difficult conditions.
Nationwide
BROUSSARD, La. (AP) — Australia’s Gavin Coles won the Louisiana Open for his fourth career Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 1-under 70 in windy conditions for a one-stroke victory over Kyle Thompson. Coles had a 12-under 272 total on the Le Triomphe Country Club course and earned $94,500. After playing the first eight holes in 1 under with three birdies and two bogeys, he parred the final 10 holes. The 39-year-old Coles, one of the tour’s shortest players at 5-foot-4, also won the 2002 Jacob’s Creek Open and 2004 New Zealand PGA, both co-sanctioned with Australasian tour, and the 2006 Legend Financial Group Classic. Thompson shot a 65.
Associated Press