(28 September 2009 – Danville, California)
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Sweden&aposs Sophie Gustafson, with ALPG Member Tamara Hyett as her caddy, secured her first victory on the LPGA since 2003, defeating Mexico&aposs Lorena Ochoa by four shots at the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge. South Koreans Amy Yang and Sun Young Yoo finished in a tie for third two shots further behind Ochoa.
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rnAfter three rounds Gustafson and Ochoa had cleared out from the field to reach 16-under par, six shots in front of their nearest rivals. It always looked like the final round would be a ‘race in two’, especially after Gustafson’s start, going 4-under for the day after 2 birdies and an eagle in the first five holes. This basically put all the challengers, apart from Ochoa, out of the running. The long-hitting Swede then gave a couple back with bogey’s on 6 and 8 before a birdie on the 9th saw her head to the back nine with a two-shot advantage.
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rnOchoa was struggling to make anything happen and by the time she made bogey at 15, the title was virtually Gustafson’s who now held a four shot lead. She closed it out with five straight pars to finish, wrapping up her fifth career LPGA victory, six years after her fourth win at the Samsung World Championship. Added to her five LPGA titles are 13 victories on the LET, her last at the 2007 De Vere Ladies Scottish Open. She has also topped the LET Money List on three occasions (2000, 2003 and 2007).
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rnAfter her round she said, “It feels fantastic to win. It’s one of my best.” After the third round she paid tribute to Hyett who helped her make an adjustment to her putting stroke saying, “Yes, my putting was much better. I was probably practicing for half hour yesterday, but my caddie figured out what I was doing, and I worked on that.”
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rnYang, the former Gold Coast student and winner of the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters at 16-years of age recorded her best finish on the LPGA with her tie for third. In doing so she posted a career-low round of 6-under par 66 in the final round to register her second Top-10 of the season and third of her career.
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rnKatherine Hull bounced back to form, finishing outright 8th at 12-under par total 276. After an opening round of even par 72, she reeled off three straight rounds of 4-under par 68 and looks set to finish a disappointing season with a flourish. Karrie Webb will be ruing her second round of 3-over par 75 as she added three rounds in the 60’s to finish in a tie for 19th at 8-under par total 280. Sarah Kemp (T53) and Wendy Doolan (T67) also made the cut.
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rnThis week sees the final full field of the year with the US$1.5million Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco R.V. at the RTJ Golf Trail in Prattville, Alabama. ALPG will be represented by Wendy Doolan, Michelle Ellis, Rachel Hetherington, Katherine Hull, Sarah Kemp and Sarah-Jane Smith.
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Photo by Paul Melville – Sophie Gustafson
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