 |
Anna Nordqvist emerged victorious. Picture by Scott Halleran/Getty Images.
|
Houston (November 24): In a week where the second-round took over 67 hours to finish and the event was cut to 54 holes, Anna Nordqvist needed just about two hours and eight holes to clinch her second-career victory on the LPGA Tour.
The 22-year-old Swede carded seven birdies in a span of eight holes in the final round to earn a two-stroke victory over 2009 Rolex Player of the Year Lorena Ochoa at the LPGA Tour Championship presented by Rolex.
“There were a lot of good players out there,” Nordqvist said after accepting the US$225,000 first-place cheque. “It was pretty tight up the leaderboard, so you really had to shoot low in order to pull it off. I was very, very happy with how I finished up the round.”
Nordqvist became the fourth multiple winner on the LPGA Tour this year with a victory at the Houstonian Golf & Country Club.
Nordqvist, who won her first-career major at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship presented by Rolex, carded a seven-under-par 65 in the final round on Monday to join Ochoa, Shin Ji-yai and Choi Na-yeon as multiple winners on Tour in 2009.
Nordqvist posted a three-day tally of 13-under-par 203 (70-68-65). She birdied five consecutive holes in the final round to take a two-shot lead with six holes to play, but a bogey at 13 dropped her lead to one shot.
Ochoa then birdied the 15th to tie for the lead, but Nordqvist countered with birdies at 14 and 15 to go two shots up on Ochoa with three holes to play. Ochoa made bogey from the sand on 17 and an important birdie on the 18th hole which clinched her fourth consecutive Rolex Player of the Year award.
South Korean Choi carded four consecutive birdies to start her final round and eagled the par-four ninth hole to turn in six-under-par 30. The two-time LPGA winner added three more birdies and a lone bogey at the 13th to set the tournament record at eight-under-par 64. She finished the week tied for third with Kristy McPherson, who entered the final round with the lead for the third time in her career.
Meanwhile, Kim Song-hee crossed US$1 million in season-earnings with her tie for fifth. Kim is the 11th and final US$1 million winner on Tour in 2009.
|
