(6 April 2009 – Rancho Mirage, California)
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rnAmerica&aposs Brittany Lincicome fired her second shot to 4-feet on the 72nd hole and subsequently sunk the eagle putt to leapfrog compatriots Kristy McPherson and Cristie Kerr to win the season&aposs first major; the US$2million Kraft Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. After an engrossing final round, three Aussies finished in the Top-8 with Lindsey Wright in outright 4th and Karrie Webb and Katherine Hull in a tie for 8th spot.
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rnLincicome, who started the day two shots behind her best friend, McPherson never held the lead all day until her eagle putt dropped in on the par-5 18th. After nine holes she was tied with McPherson at 8-under par; however Kerr had the outright lead after two birdies got her to 9-under. McPherson joined Kerr with a birdie at the 10th and it was virtual match play as the three were playing together in the final group.
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rnThe real drama started to unfold from the 12th hole where Lincicome slipped a further shot behind after her second shot plugged in the bunker, finishing up with bogey to go back to 7-under par. Both Kerr and McPherson then dropped shots on the 13th before Kerr moved back to the lead with a birdie at 14. However disaster struck the 2007 US Open Champion as she hit her drive out-of-bounds on the 15th, winding up with a double-bogey to hand the advantage back to McPherson.
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rnAll three players made pars at the 16th and 17th holes, to leave McPherson with a one shot lead over Kerr heading to the last, with Lincicome a shot further back. With her length off the tee, Lincicome knew she could reach the par-5 in two. Reiterating her thoughts from the course, she said, “If we could go for 18 in two and get a birdie, I would win or get in a playoff.” She did just that, hitting her 19 degree hybrid to 4-feet, putting pressure on the other two. Kerr firstly sunk her 18-footer for birdie to tie McPherson who then couldn’t roll in her birdie putt. It was then left to Lincicome who said, “My hands were shaking so bad, I was almost crying.”
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rnThe putt dropped and the 23-year old had captured her first major at the age of 23 years, 6 months and 17 days, and in doing so burst through the US$2million barrier in career earnings. After accepting the US$300,000.00 winner’s cheque, she said, “I can’t even describe it. It’s surreal. I had not played great all day. I was hanging in there but could not really get any birdies to fall.”
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rnAustralia’s Lindsey Wright had an interesting final round that included 17 pars and an eagle on the 11th hole. Playing in the penultimate group, Wright just couldn’t make the birdies to put herself right in the thick of the championship. It was her equal best finish in a Major after she also finished 4th at the 2007 McDonald’s LPGA Championship. Karrie Webb fired a final round 3-under par 69 to move up the leaderboard into a tie for 8th. She was joined by Katherine Hull who was another player who couldn’t find the birdies to get in the mix, finishing with 12 straight pars to record her best ever finish in a major. Rachel Hetherington also made the cut but finished well back in a tie for 56th.
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rnThe LPGA now has a 2 week break before resuming on 23 April 2009 for the Corona Championship in Mexico.
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