(5 October 2009 – Prattville, Alabama)
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Mexico&aposs World No.1 Lorena Ochoa, who took the lead mid-way through her second round, held on to win the Navistar LPGA Classic Presented by Monaco R.V. by four shots from American&aposs Michelle Wie and Brittany Lang. It was Ochoa&aposs first win since she won the Corona Championship in April. In both cases she defended the titles she won in 2008 when she was dominating women’s golf.
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rnAfter opening with rounds of 66, 68 and 66, Ochoa took a three shot lead into the final round with the pressure firmly on her after what she described as a “slow middle part of the year.” Early on, it seemed as if the pressure of not winning for a while was starting to show. She made a bogey at the second and then a double bogey on the fifth, falling back to be tied with Sandra Gal in a share of the lead. However, she regained the ascendency with birdies at the 8th and 11th holes to get back to even for the day, while Gal bogeyed the 10th to fall three behind.
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rnWith Gal faltering, it looked as if the challenge would come from Lang and Scotland’s Janice Moodie who had both reached 14-under par through twelve holes and were chasing hard. Ochoa responded though, opening up a three shot cushion with a fourth birdie on the day at No.14. Moodie and Lang couldn’t find the necessary birdies to make a real challenge and Ochoa added one for good measure at the 17th, thereby playing the last with a four shot advantage, which parred to wrap up a comprehensive and somewhat relieving victory.
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rnAfter collecting the winner’s cheque for the 27th time in her LPGA career, Ochoa said, “The way I played the last few weeks and winning today, it means a lot. I been working hard and I guess I’m proud. I’m gonna try to repeat a few of those this year, and I try hard to win Player of the Year.” With the win she moved up to second play in the Rolex Player of the Year standings, just 5 points behind Jiyai Shin. She also moved within striking distance of Shin at the top of the Official Money List, into 5th place with season earnings of US$1,209,225.00, just US$396,561.00 behind the Korean.
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rnSarah-Jane Smith was the best of the ALPG Members as she made a late run to try and secure her LPGA card for 2010. In the end her tie for 19th, while her best result of the year, was not quite enough to break into the Top-90 on the Money List, finishing in 107th. With just four limited field events left on the schedule, Smith’s season is finished until Final Q-School in December, should she decide to try and improve her ranking. Sarah Kemp was in a similar predicament, needing a good finish to break into the all-important Top-90. She too fell short after finishing in a tie for 61st, leaving her just $3,164.00 behind 90th in 93rd place on the Official Money List. Rachel Hetherington however had a better result, with her tie for 44th and subsequent US$4,779.00 pay cheque moving her up to 88th on the Money List. Katherine Hull continued her late-season resurgence, finishing in a tie for 23rd. A disappointing second round of 3-over 75 saw her slip from contention but closing rounds of 70 and 69 saw her regain some of the lost ground. Wendy Doolan (T74) also made the cut.
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rnAs stated, that was the final full-field tournament for season 2009, with the LPGA set to resume on 30 October with the Hana Bank KOLON Championship in South Korea. With only the Top-50 players’ eligible, ALPG will be represented by Karrie Webb, Lindsey Wright and Katherine Hull.
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Photo by Paul Melville – Lorena Ochoa