South Korea's Pak Se-ri fired a six-under par 65 on Sunday, rallying from four strokes behind when the day began to win the LPGA Michelob Ultra Classic and clinch a Hall of Fame spot.
Pak finished at nine-under par 275 after 72 holes to win her 22nd career LPGA title by two strokes over Mexico's Lorena Ochoa, the co-leader after three rounds, and American Juli Inkster on the American Mother's Day.
"I told my mom [Kim Jung-sook], `I hope I have a gift for you with a win,' but I wasn't too sure," Pak said. "I'm really happy.
PHOTO: AP
"Sunday, May 9 is the best day of my life, I think."
The victory ensured the 26-year-old LPGA star a berth in the Women's Golf Hall of Fame when she becomes eligible in 2008 after her 10th LPGA season.
"It feels very special this week," Pak said. "One of my dreams come true. I was trying to join the Hall of Fame and I worked so hard for seven years.
"Today was the last point and to get it on Mother's Day, and my mom was here and I was struggling earlier this week -- I think I finished great."
One final quest nags at Pak, claiming a career Grand Slam by winning at Rancho Mirage, California. Her next chance at the Dinah Shore comes in 2005.
"I have one more goal to go -- at Dinah, the last Grand Slam major for me," Pak said.
Pak birdied three of the first five holes, sinking a 35-footer at the par-3 second, an 18-footer at the third and a 25-footer on the par-3 fifth.
After a two-putt bogey at the sixth, Pak had back-to-back birdies to finish the front nine, including a 22-footer at the eighth.
"Everything inside my heart said `Make it free. Everything is clear. Just go out and play as quick as I can.' Suddenly my putts dropped," Pak said.
She birdied the 11th and hit consecutive birdies at 14 and par-5 15, all inside 10 feet, before a bogey at the 16th.
Pak held firm, parring the final two holes to maintain a two-stroke edge on Ochoa, who was in the 18th fairway as Pak putted out. Her approach bid for an equalizing eagle was short of the green and Pak had her victory.
"She's a fast finisher," Inkster said. "She usually starts off plodding, kind of gets herself in the hunt, then Sunday she lets it all go. But she's a great player."
Ochoa opened and closed the front nine with bogeys and made another at the 10th to tumble back on her way to a runner-up finish here for the second year in a row.
"It just happened so fast," Ochoa said. "I hit my driver very inconsistent and I just didn't feel right, out of tempo, out of rhythm. I think I was trying too hard in a couple of holes to make birdie and just hit it really hard."
Third-round co-leader Christie Kerr made a double bogey at the second, chipping thrice from greenside rough, and the American was nevermore a factor.
South Korea's Han Hee-Won and Australian Wendy Doolan shared fourth on 280, one stroke ahead of Kerr and Korean Kim Mi-hyun.
Swedish stars Annika Sorenstam and Helen Alfredsson joined American Pat Hurst in eighth on 282, one stroke better than American Christina Kim and Aussie star Karrie Webb.
US 14-year-old sensation Michelle Wie fired a final-round 72 to finish on 284. She made five bogeys but sank a three-foot eagle putt at the 458-yard par-5 15th.
"It was a great week. I had a lot of fun," Wie said.
Next week, Wie faces her grade-school final tests. Next month, she returns here to defend her US Women's Amateur Public Links crown.
"After I saw how I played this week, I know what I have to work on," Wie said. "I have to work out a lot more and try and get ready for the summer."
Wachovia Championship
Joey Sindelar parred the second sudden-death playoff hole on Sunday to beat fellow American Arron Oberholser and snap a 14-year US PGA title drought by winning the Wachovia Championship.
The 46-year-old veteran had not won a title since 1990 at Quad Cities, a drought of 370 events, but rallied with three late birdies to reach a playoff and then claimed his seventh career crown at the US$5.6 million event.
"I never, ever gave up hope," Sindelar said. "It hurt bad a lot of times.
"You work, work, work. You don't know when it's going to show up. You keep hitting your head against the wall and one day the wall is going to break."
Sindelar's time between triumphs is the third-longest in US PGA history, trailing Butch Baird's drought from 1961 to 1976 and Ed Fiori's 1982 to 1996 gap.
"I never thought I couldn't," Sindelar said. "Tee-to-green, I knew I could be a top-30 guy but I've been getting beat in the short game. That's the mission I've been on, trying to learn to pitch. It took me two years and 30,000 chips before I felt I could chip like a pro."
Sindelar, ranked 22nd in the world, won US$1,008 million for the victory, more than he has made in any prior full PGA season.
"That's a stupid amount of money, no matter what you do," Sindelar said.
Sindelar and Oberholser finished 72 holes at 11-under par 277, one stroke ahead of Tiger Woods and Paraguay's Carlos Franco. Americans Notah Begay, Steve Flesch, Jeff Maggert and Masters champion Phil Mickelson were on 279.
Woods made a run at the title, following a second-hole bogey with five birdies. He birdied three of four starting at the seventh and the 17th but just missed the playoff with his final-round 68 one day after a horrid 75.
Fiji's Vijay Singh, trying to become the first player since Woods in 1999 to win three consecutive US PGA events, eagled the par-5 15th to raise hopes, but a bogey at 17th and a double-bogey at 18 left him a 72 and a share of 10th.
"I'm not in Vijay's or Tiger's world," Sindelar said after spending a few hours in their neighborhood at the very least.
Sindelar's first son was only a few months old when he last won, prompting him to joke that "my sons think the trophies in my case are replicas, that we got them from a sporting goods store."
In the playoff, both men opened the same way they finished their final rounds, by parring the 18th hole.
Oberholser blasted out to 12 feet but his par putt went four feet beyond the cup.
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