(11 May 2009 – Williamsburg, Virginia)
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rnWorld No. 6 Cristie Kerr this morning won her 13th career title at the lucrative Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill and collected US$330,000.00, one of the biggest winner&aposs cheques in women&aposs golf. She eventually won by two-shots from South Korea&aposs In-Kyung Kim with Australia&aposs Lindsey Wright and another Korean Song-Hee Kim in a tie for 3rd a further stroke back.
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rnWright, who was looking for her first career LPGA victory, started the final round in a tie with Kerr at 15-under par. However, it was Song-Hee who made the best start making a hat-trick of birdies from the 2nd hole to move to 16-under. Kerr also reached that mark with a birdie at the 4th, her lone score other than par on the front nine. Wright matched two birdies with two bogeys on the front nine to make the turn still in contention, just one behind Kerr.
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rnOn a course where the wind had switched and fourteen pins were at least 35 on, the scoring was markedly higher than the previous three days and par was paramount. Kerr showed all her experience, making 15 pars, 2 birdies and a bogey in a round of 1-under par 70. The crunch hole came at the 16th, where both Kerr and Song-Hee were at 16-under par with Wright and In-Kyung just one shot back. Kerr was the only player to make par, with Song-Hee making a fatal double bogey and the other two bogeys. This left Kerr with, what proved, an unassailable two-shot lead. Both Wright and Song-Hee made bogey at the 18th to fall out of a tie for 2nd.
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rnKerr reiterated the importance of par golf by saying, “The course played really tough today. I think with the north wind it plays tougher. I tried to be good mentally on every shot. The par save on 16 to get a two-shot lead instead of one going into the last two holes was big.”
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rnFor Wright it was a major disappointment to again not close the deal, but her last two starts have yielded a 4th (Kraft Nabisco) and a tie for 3rd in arguably two of the best fields seen all year. The result should also see her move up on the Rolex Rankings tomorrow, possibly into a Top-30 spot. The US$130,000.00 she collected should also be some consolation for the likable Aussie. Katherine Hull finished strongly, posting a final round 4-under par 67 to climb the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 28th at 3-under par total 281. Karrie Webb was the next best placed finisher among the ALPG Members, finishing in a tie for 39th at even par total 284. Sarah Kemp (T47), Wendy Doolan (T63) and Sarah-Jane Smith (70th) all made the weekend play but finished well back.
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rnThe LPGA again plays for another big purse this week with the US$2million Sybase Classic Presented by Shoprite at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton, New Jersey. The ALPG Members who will be participating are Wendy Doolan, Michelle Ellis, Rachel Hetherington, Katherine Hull, Sarah-Jane Smith, Karrie Webb and Lindsey Wright. At the time of printing, Sarah Kemp is the 4th alternate. Click here for the final field.
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