Sorenstam pips Neumann to win Nabisco Championship

Doug Ferguson,Ap Golf Writer,California
Sunday 31 March 2002 18:00 EST
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Annika Sorenstam blew past Karrie Webb with back–to–back birdies to seize the lead here yesterday, then held off fellow Swede Liselotte Neumann with error–free golf down the stretch to become the first back–to–back winner in the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Sorenstam closed with a 4–under 68 for a one–stroke victory, claiming the LPGA Tour's first major championship of the year.

She knocked in a 2–foot par putt on the final hole before Neumann faced a 15–foot birdie putt from just on the fringe that would have forced a playoff.

The only dull moment came when it was over. Unlike a year ago, when Sorenstam took the traditional plunge by racing into the water that surrounds the 18th green, this time she simply waded into the water with caddie Terry McNamara and his young daughter.

Splashy? Far from it, although Sorenstam had enough brilliant shots during a pressure–packed final round to keep a large gallery thoroughly entertained during a blistering hot day in the desert.

Sorenstam finished at 8–under 280 and earned $225,000 for her 33rd career victory. She now has four majors, the tournaments that mean the most to her.

"What a day! It's been incredible," Sorenstam said. "I felt pressure all week, but today I played as good as I can. It was a great finish."

She wore red shoes from Nike that were delivered earlier this week, and Sorenstam decided to break them out for the final round. They looked like they belonged on Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz." Sorenstam didn't have to click her heels to get back to the winner's circle at the Dinah Shore course, just play steady, solid golf.

Coming off a record–breaking year in which she became the first woman to shoot 59 and the first to earn more than $2 million in one season, Sorenstam is showing no signs of letting up. She already has won twice on the LPGA Tour this year, and lost in playoff in Phoenix.

Neumann has gone 88 tour events without a victory, the longest drought of her career. She gave Sorenstam all she could handle, closing with a 69 and putting on the pressure until her birdie attempt on the final hole slid by on the left.

Rosie Jones, the best woman to have never won a major, got to within one stroke of the lead with a 40–foot birdie putt on No. 13, but never challenged again. She finished with a 69 and was at 282, tied for third with 24–year–old Cristie Kerr (68).

"This was one of my best tries," said Jones, who started the final round one stroke out of the lead. "I just couldn't some of the birdie putts to fall."

Webb didn't make a birdie until the 16th hole. She closed with a 72 and finished seventh at 284.

A duel in the desert that everyone anticipated from the best rivalry in golf never materialized. It was the first time Sorenstam and Webb played in the final group at a major championship, but the 27–year–old Aussie was never on her game.

Webb hit only three of the first seven greens in regulation and didn't have a birdie putt inside 20 feet on the front nine.

Neumann made the first move with a 6–foot birdie on No. 3, while Sorenstam again looked frustrated on the greens, missing from 10 and 12 feet early on.

All it took was one putt to fall, and she was off. Sorenstam hit her tee shot to 5 feet on the par–3 fifth hole over water, then hit her approach into 10 feet on the next hole to take the lead for good.

She still missed her share of birdie putts, leaving most of them short, but she got into a groove off the tee and from the fairway, and made it clear that for those wanting to win the Nabisco, they would have to come get her.

Neumann tried. After an adventure into the trees and the bunker gave her a bogey on the par–5 11th, the easiest hole on the Dinah Shore course, Neumann answered with two straight birdies and stayed close to Sorenstam.

Of her four birdies, none was bigger for Sorenstam than a 20–foot putt from on the fringe behind the 13th hole. That put her at 8 under, and allowed her to keep her slim lead when Neumann followed with a 6–foot putt for birdie.

They made pars the rest of the way, with Sorenstam two–putting from about 50 feet on No. 15 to keep momentum on her side.

Leading final scores at the $1.5 million Kraft Nabisco Championship played at the par–72, 6,520 yard Mission Hills course (US unless stated, * denotes amateur):

280 Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) 70 71 71 68

281 Liselotte Neumann (Sweden) 69 70 73 69

282 Cristie Kerr 74 70 70 68, Rosie Jones 72 69 72 69

283 Carin Koch (Sweden) 73 73 71 66, Akiko Fukushima (Japan) 73 76 68 66

284 Karrie Webb (Australia) 75 70 67 72

285 Leta Lindley 72 72 72 69, Lorena Ochoa 75 69 71 70*

286 Grace Park (South Korea) 75 73 70 68, Se Ri Pak (South Korea) 74 71 71 70, Lorie Kane (Canada) 73 72 70 71, Becky Iverson 71 74 68 73

287 Heather Bowie 75 71 72 69, Beth Daniel 71 70 75 71, Kris Tschetter 74 69 73 71, Vicki Goetze–Ackerman 74 73 68 72, Dorothy Delasin 72 73 69 73

288 Mhairi McKay (Britain) 73 72 73 70, Juli Inkster 73 76 71 68

289 Janice Moodie (Britain) 73 73 73 70, Wendy Doolan (Australia) 78 70 72 69, Laura Davies (Britain) 75 75 69 70, Mi Hyun Kim (South Korea) 75 74 69 71

290 Hee–Won Han (South Korea) 74 74 73 69, Suzann Pettersen (Norway) 74 71 73 72, Laurel Kean 79 74 71 66, Michele Redman 75 70 72 73, Sophie Gustafson (Sweden) 77 69 71 73

291 Laura Diaz 74 73 73 71, Aree Wongluekiet (Thailand) 71 74 73 73*

292 Kathryn Marshall (Britain) 75 72 73 72, Gloria Park (South Korea) 70 76 75 71, Heather Daly–Donofrio 72 75 72 73, Alison Nicholas (Britain) 76 71 70 75

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