Lindley beats Jang in playoff
CORNING, N.Y. (AP) -Leta Lindley looked at the leaderboard at the opportune time.
Not long after missing a short birdie putt at the fifth hole of the final round of the Corning Classic on Sunday, she took a peek to see what third-round co-leader Jeong Jang was doing in the twosome right behind.
"I saw that J.J. had eagled that hole. By then I was like four back," said Lindley, whose husband Matt served as her caddy. "I turned to my husband and said, 'Well, there's no reason to be nervous because I'm so far back. I might as well just go for it, go play and do the best and see what happens."
What happened was somewhat historic. Lindley (67) overcame that miss from 3 feet, rallied with four birdies on the back nine to finish regulation in a tie with Jang (68), then beat her in a one-hole playoff for her first career victory in her 295th professional start on tour.
That equaled Missie McGeorge for the third-longest time a player had gone before notching that elusive first victory on tour.
"I am just so overwhelmed," said Lindley, who took off most of 2004 and 2006 to give birth to her two children, son Cole and daughter Reese. "I can't hardly believe it. I've been dreaming about this day forever. I can't even believe I'm living this experience."
Lindley, who lost a two-hole playoff with Chris Johnson at the 1997 McDonald's Championship, won $225,000 to boost her earnings for the year to $332,814.
That missed putt still was bothering her afterward.
"You can't miss putts like that and expect to win," Lindley said. "I thought, 'Is it ever going to come? When it comes down to it, am I going to be good enough to make those clutch putts coming down the stretch or to win on 18?' "
Jang and Lindley, with her kids sort of watching her on television in the media center, began the final hole of regulation tied at 11 under. Lindley, in the group ahead of Jang, made a two-putt par from the front edge of the green to place the pressure on Jang.
Jang's drive at 18 had sailed into the right rough and, blocked by an overhanging branch just ahead, she had to punch her second shot out and it landed in a greenside bunker. With her right foot in the sand and her left on the trap's slope, Jang blasted to 6 1/2 feet and made the par putt to force the playoff.
"I knew she would make it because J.J. makes everything," Lindley said.
Lindley won the draw and let Jang go first on the extra hole, the par-4 18th again, and this time Jang hooked her tee shot into the left rough. Lindley followed with a drive down the right side and nailed a 7-iron to 6 feet, easy birdie range.
"I hit it perfect," Lindley said. "Seeing that she hit in the right bunker, I went for it."
Jang rallied again with an even better sand shot that nearly went in the hole, stopping inches away to set up a tap-in par. After Jang made it, Lindley calmly stepped up and sank her winning putt.
"I tried hard, and somebody played better than me," said Jang, who fell to 0-3 in playoffs.
Two years ago, Jang led here by three shots after three rounds, faltered with a 76 on the final day, and finished seventh. Jang and Erica Blasberg began Sunday with a one-shot lead, and Jang seemed intent on erasing that painful memory, making two birdies and that eagle on her first five holes to reach 11 under.
Jang, who tied for third in the SemGroup Championship and tied for second at Kingsmill in her previous two starts, then made bogey at No. 9 and Lindley tied for the lead with birdies at Nos. 10, 11 and 12.
Jang birdied No. 16 to regain the lead, and just moments later Lindley hit a sand wedge from 94 yards to 5 inches for a tap-in birdie at 17 to tie it again.
Scoring was difficult in the first three rounds because of the elements. The first round was played in 40-degree weather with rain and wind, and though the sun broke through on the next two rounds, a gusting 20 mph breeze made each shot a guessing game. Sunday was ideal, a picture-perfect day with blue skies and a slight breeze that made the greens fast and true.
Blasberg, who is nonexempt and also was in search of her first victory on tour, was unaccustomed to having the lead on the final day of a tournament and it showed. She faltered at Turtle Bay in February when she was in the final pair with Annika Sorenstam in a tie for the lead and finished eighth.
In the final group again on Sunday, this time with two-time winner Jang, Blasberg had three bogeys and a double bogey on the front nine to drop out of contention.
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McGinley takes early lead at PGA Championship with a 1st-round 65
VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) -Paul McGinley boosted his chances of a fourth successive Ryder Cup appearance with a 7-under 65 in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday.
The 41-year-old Dubliner played a near-flawless round with birdies at all four of the par-5s for a one-stroke lead over Robert Karlsson.
Marcus Fraser and Louis Oosthuizen shot 67s to sit in third at the 7,320-yard West Course, which was hard and bouncy after a recent dry spell.
Charl Schwartzel, Daniek Vancsik and Garry Houston carded 68.
McGinley said his 65 was his best round since a 67 on the first day of last year's British Open.
"I struggled most of this year with poor or medium first rounds," he said. "But it's a long way from leading now to winning on Sunday night. The Ryder Cup is not on the horizon. It's in the future. I have got to have a heck of a summer to make it."
McGinley, currently 32nd on the European points list from which the top five qualify, has played on the last three European teams and initially accepted an offer from Nick Faldo to be a vice-captain on this year's team. He then reneged, saying he'd like to qualify as a player instead.
"I'm not ready to be a back room staffer," he said. "I don't feel I'm ready for that role yet. In the future I hope I'll get to do those things."
Many players had trouble in the dry conditions - a departure from the soggy course of recent years. Karlsson, however, liked it just fine.
"I putted really well, very well and I kept the ball in play," Karlsson said. "Whenever I had a bit of a problem I tried to play sensibly."
The Swede made three 25-foot putts for birdie, including on the last hole where his chipped third shot ended up in the fringe.
Ernie Els is looking for his first win at this event after seven World Match Play titles on the same course, but struggled for a 75.
Four players, David Howell, Graeme McDowell, Nick Dougherty and Miguel-Angel Jimenez, were tied on 70.
Paul Casey shot 71 after a double-bogey 7 on the long 17th, which Els also bogeyed. And both could only par the par-5 18th.
Darren Clarke also had a 75 while Lee Westwood shot 77.
Defending champion Anders Hansen had 75 while the man he beat in a playoff last year, Justin Rose, shot 76.
Three-time champion Colin Montgomerie double bogeyed the short second hole and bogeyed the third, before battling back for a 73.
U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera opened with five successive bogeys then also fought back for a 73.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Watson birdies final hole to win Champions Tour event
LAKEWAY, Texas (AP) -Zimbabwe's Denis Watson birdied the final hole Sunday to win the FedEx Kinko's Classic, taking advantage of countryman Nick Price's late collapse.
Watson closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 10 under. He earned $240,000 (?155,20) for his second victory of the year and fourth overall on the Champions Tour.
"Never give up," Watson said. "I hate this for Nick because we need him on the tour. This is my first time as the recipient of a back-in win."
Watson's drive on the 18th hole landed in the middle of the fairway, and he put his second shot 50 feet from the pin. His eagle putt slid 5 feet past the hole, but he holed the putt for what turned out to be the winning shot.
Price, who shot a 75 to finish at 9 under, appeared to be in control of the tournament through most of a clear and warm final round. But watery double bogeys on 15 and 16 dropped him out of the lead, and an 18th-hole par left him a stroke back.
Price tied for second with 2007 winner Scott Hoch (69) and Tim Simpson (70). Loren Roberts (74) was fifth at 8 under.
Watson won the AT&T Classic in March in California. Last year, he won the Senior PGA Championship and Boeing Classic.
A stunned Price, still looking for his first Champions Tour win, said he was still unsure how his game unraveled.
"This is such a crazy game," he said. "I was hitting it so well today. I thought I could have closed my eyes on the 15th hole and made a bogey."
Price began the day with a two-shot lead over Scott Simpson and Roberts. He maintained the two-stroke edge with an even-par 36 on the front nine, but ran into double trouble on 15 and 16.
On the par-4 15th, Price's 7-iron second shot found a tree hanging over the fairway that kicked the ball into a creek guarding the green. On the par-3 16th, which had already claimed plenty of final-round victims, his 5-iron tee shot hit on the bank and splashed back into the water when the wind switched.
His double bogey there left five players tied for the lead at 9 under - Price, Hoch, Tim Simpson, Scott Simpson and Roberts.
Price had one more chance to salvage a win or a playoff on the 18th, the second easiest hole on the course.
He hit a perfect drive, but his second shot found a greenside bunker. His chip left him 19 feet from the pin and he failed to covert the birdie putt.
"It was pretty much over for me before then," Price said.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Royal Birkdale course lengthened for British Open among other changes
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) -Royal Birkdale has been lengthened by 155 yards to a total of 7,173 yards for this year's British Open. Tiger Woods might still be able to tame the course without using his driver.
The course is still short by modern championship standards.
Woods won at nearby Hoylake two years ago while using his driver only once the whole week.
Royal & Ancient secretary Peter Dawson said Tuesday it's possible Woods could do it again at Birkdale.
"I don't think he'd get up in two at the (499-yard) sixth if it were into the wind, or the (544 yard) 15th if he took an iron into the wind," Dawson said. "But Tiger's course management is certainly not for me to second guess.
"He'll play the course on the day as he sees fit. If he sees hitting the fairways as the way around, that's what he'll no doubt do. But I don't think that this golf course you could accuse of being a short course or a course that intends to take the driver out of the player's hands. Far from it."
Hoylake was rock-hard after a dry spell in 2006 and Woods took advantage to win by two shots over Chris DiMarco.
Dawson said the R&A would love similar conditions this year.
"We are looking for hard, fast links conditions. We always do," he said. "If we have a good dry period we'll get the hard, fast conditions with rough that's perhaps not quite as juicy. If it rains a lot, it won't be hard and fast but the rough will be more severe. That's just the way it is every year."
Changes have made to 16 of the 18 holes since the Open was last played at Birkdale in 1998, when Mark O'Meara won.
Tees have been moved back on the 3rd, 6th, 11th and 16th holes with the green moved back at the 17th. Other changes have involved the movement or addition of fairway bunkers or mounds and swales around the greens to provide more runoffs from the greens or generally tighten up the course.
Announcement of prize money was delayed because of the general uncertainly about exchange rates. Padraig Harrington received 750,000 pounds (US$1.5 million based on current exchange rates) for his victory at Carnoustie last year, 1,000 percent more than the 750 pounds Australian Peter Thomson won in 1954 when the Open was played at Birkdale for the first time.
Dawson said there was great concern over the slow pace of play in the sport, although he pointed out that the final pairings at the last two Opens finished in 3 hours, 45 minutes and 3:50 respectively.
Final groups in this year's Masters at Augusta took 5 hours, 10 minutes to complete their rounds. The problem is up for discussion at an international meeting of golf federations in the U.S. after the Players Championship next month.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Lorena Ochoa wins Ginn Open, becomes 1st in 45 years to win tournaments in 4 straight weeks
REUNION, Florida (AP) -World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa became the first U.S. LPGA Tour player in 45 years to win four tournaments in consecutive weeks on Sunday.
Ochoa shot 3-under 69 in the final round of the Ginn Open and beat Taiwanese rookie Yani Tseng by three strokes for her fifth victory in six starts this year.
"I'm very grateful. It's been a blessing, you know," Ochoa said. "But I know that bad times will come. It's just the way life is. I'm just trying to enjoy my moment, and I would like to enjoy it for a long time. So even if it's going to be an up-and-down ride, hopefully I can stay there."
Ochoa trailed early in the final round, but went ahead for good with three consecutive birdies beginning at No. 8. She finished 19 under and became the second player to win four times in as many weeks.
Mickey Wright did it in 1962 and 1963. Kathy Whitworth (1969) and Annika Sorenstam (2001) also won four consecutive events, but both took a week off during their runs.
Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) hold the tour record with five straight victories in events entered, but neither of those came in consecutive weeks.
Ochoa will give her colleagues a chance to take the spotlight next week when she sits out the Stanford Invitation Pro-Am in Florida, and will try to make it five straight in two weeks in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"She's proven that she's our top player," Paula Creamer said. "She's set that mark pretty high."
Ochoa talked all week about how tiring it was to play four straight events, especially since last week's victory came in her Mexico homeland and was filled with visits from friends and family members, plus countless media and sponsorship requests.
But even with a little less energy, she was better than everyone else at the Ginn.
"She's really No. 1," said Tseng, who finished 16 under and five shots ahead of third-place Teresa Lu and Suzann Pettersen.
Ochoa was up a stroke to begin the final round, but Tseng pulled ahead with a birdie-birdie start. Ochoa had several chances to move back in front, but she just missed birdie putts on Nos. 5, 6 and 7. She finally grabbed the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 8, then followed with two more on the next two holes.
The 19-year-old Tseng couldn't keep pace on the back nine, bogeying three of the final six holes and allowing Ochoa to cruise to her latest win. Tseng, who has two second-place finishes and six top-25 showings in as many starts this year, said she became distracted by thoughts of winning.
"A little bit," she said. "Maybe not just a little bit, more than that."
Ochoa tapped in for par on No. 18, then raised both arms in celebration. She congratulated Tseng and told her they were going to see each other on many Sundays.
Ochoa won a car and $390,000 (?247,500), raising her 2008 earnings to $1,440,500 (?913,000). She also took home another trophy. She grabbed the giant, shell-shaped glass bowl with one hand and held up four fingers with the other.
"The biggest thing is her confidence," Creamer said. "She goes out there and knows she can do it and knows how to win."
It was Ochoa's 10th win in her last 15 tournaments, dating to last year. She won eight times in 2007 and has been even better to start '08.
She opened with an 11-stroke victory in Singapore, defended her Safeway International title with a seven-stroke romp, won the season's first major by five shots and led all the way last week in Mexico and won by 11.
Although she worked all offseason on her short game - she got up-and-down from every bunker at the Ginn and finished 12 under on the par 5s - she credits her recent success on her mental toughness.
"Even if you don't have your best swing or your best rhythm or you're not feeling the best in your life, you have to be able to manage the score and put yourself in a good position," she said.
She's in position to make it five in a row.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Tee shot into the water takes Flesch's hopes for green jacket with it
AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) -Steve Flesch was doing just what he needed to do in brutal conditions. Plod along, make a bunch of pars and hope it would be enough to win.
Then he got to Amen Corner. After dunking his ball in Rae's Creek, Flesch didn't have a prayer.
The left-hander took a double-bogey 5 at the picturesque 12th hole, where he knocked his tee shot into the water. Flesch went from just two strokes out of the lead to four, and it all fell apart from there. He played the last seven holes at 6 over, ruining any shot at his first major.
Flesch finished in a tie for fifth after closing with a 78, leaving him six strokes behind winner Trevor Immelman.
"I was playing all right," Flesch said. "The wind just got really tricky on the back nine and we just pulled the wrong club on the 12th hole and it went straight up and went in the water."
It didn't get much better from there. After making par at the par-5 13th - one of the best shots at birdie on the course - he made four bogeys in a row.
"I was just kind of trying to make some putts, trying to make some birdies, trying to be aggressive, and got a little too aggressive on a couple shots," he said. "It's a little disheartening and very disappointing, but that's all right. It's still my best finish in a major, and hopefully if I get in the situation again, it'll turn out differently."
Flesch went with an 8-iron at the pivotal 12th, believing it would be enough to clear the water on a 154-yard hole that's tucked away in a far corner of the course.
He was wrong.
"When I was over it, there wasn't much wind at all and I was aiming it left of the bunker and I hit it solid," Flesch said. "But halfway through the flight, it just stood straight up into the wind and I could tell halfway there that it wasn't going to make it."
After taking a drop and a one-shot penalty, Flesch pitched his ball over the water. But he missed a short bogey putt and walked off knowing his chances of winning were probably gone. In the pressure-packed environment of a Sunday at Augusta, his putter deserted him.
"As good as I putted the first three days, I just didn't putt very well on the back nine," he said. "And that's just how it goes. The back nine on Sunday out here, they get a little more difficult."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Swing change: Els cuts ties with Leadbetter, switches to Harmon
AUGUSTA, Georgia (AP) -Ernie Els hated making the phone call. Still, he felt a coaching change was the only way to make some needed improvements in his game.
After working with David Leadbetter since 1990, the Els said Tuesday he switched to Butch Harmon as his swing coach because he wanted to "get a different feel, get different words coming toward me."
The timing of the move was somewhat curious, because Els won the Honda Classic just over a month ago. But he decided Harmon could help smooth out some of the rough spots in his swing heading into the golf season's first major of the year, the Masters.
"He's obviously had a lot of success with a lot of players, and I love the way he changes people's games," Els said after a practice round at Augusta National. "I've seen it with Stewart Cink and I've seen it with Justin Leonard and a lot of other players. I like the way they swing."
But to sign on with Harmon, Els had to make the difficult step of breaking up with Leadbetter, who helped craft a swing that won two U.S. Opens and a British Open. The news was delivered in an emotional phone call.
"David Leadbetter is a very good friend of mine. He's been a friend of mine for a very long time," Els said. "Obviously it's tough breaking up with a guy like Lead, but he'll be a friend of mine forever."
Asked what he was looking to change, Els pointed to improving his posture, shortening his backswing and getting the upper and lower parts of his body more in rhythm.
"My hips were really turning too much and my shoulder, everything was kind of collapsing at the top," he said. "I'm quite a flexible guy, but swinging that long, I get out of sync with my lower body and upper, so I needed to stabilize that and shorten my backswing a little bit, and really get the club out in front of me."
Els is already starting to notice some improvement, though he concedes it's too early in the process to know how much impact it will have at Augusta.
"Hey, it could go either way," he said. "Hopefully I can be right on Thursday and really trust the swing and trust my different moves. It's not stuff that's totally foreign to me. ... It's going to look like my normal swing. It's just in a little different position."
Els had been contemplating a change since late last season. Even after winning the Honda Classic, he stuck with his plan to switch to Harmon, who has worked with everyone from Tiger Woods to Phil Mickelson.
"Although I won, I still felt I wasn't totally under control of the golf ball, and that's not a great feeling to have," Els said. "So I felt, hey, let's start fresh and maybe get a different look and go from there."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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