South Korean Hall of Famer Pak Se-ri joined another exclusive club on Sunday with her victory in the US$1.3 million Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Pak posted a four-under 67 for a three-stroke victory, becoming just the third player - along with Mickey Wright and Annika Sorenstam - to win the same LPGA event five times.
At 17-under 267, Pak finished three shots ahead of Morgan Pressel, who finished at 270 after a 68 that included a hole-in-one at the par-three sixth hole.
Photo: AFP
"It wasn't an easy day for me today," said Pak, who had back to back bogeys at four and five but responded to that - and Pressel's hole-in-one - with birdies at six, eight and nine. "She is just good," Pak said of the 19-year-old Pressel. "Just after she made the ace, it made me say, 'Hey, you better work really hard, otherwise the game is over.'"
"I had a great couple of shots, [that] made me think I was still [in with a chance]," she said.
Pak regained the lead for good with a birdie at 15, and also birdied 17. She led by one heading to 18, where Pressel pulled her drive left into the gallery which led to a bogey. Pak split the fairway with a three-wood and birdied the hole to clinch the win and claim the first prize of US$195,000.
"I knew Morgan had trouble, but you never know," Pak said of her thoughts at 18, where she knocked a sand wedge within a foot of the pin. "I knew I still had to finish [well]."
"I didn't mean it to be that close, but the gallery liked it," she said.
Pak was thrilled to add another big accomplishment to her 2007 season, in which she has completed the requirements for the Hall of Fame.
"First, winning is always great," she said. "Second, if one [win] makes history, I think that's pretty special. I'm very grateful. It's a very special year, to be in the Hall of Fame and I won the the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic again. [Being the] third woman to win ... the same event [five times], that's pretty good."
"It's really [been a] lovely week for me - perfect for me," she said.
Pressel, who was troubled by a foot ailment that had her visiting the doctor on Thursday, came on strong at the weekend to challenge Pak and was pleased with her week overall.
While she was delighted with her ace - with a seven-iron from 148 yards - she acknowledged that it served to galvanize Pak.
"Obviously, I had a great shot," she said. "Se Ri made a great birdie there to only lose one shot. My grandpa said it kind of woke her up. She was firing right at it after that, and I couldn't quite make them. I had quite a few that were left just on the edge."
When Pak took the lead at 15, Pressel said, she just tried to focus on making birdies.
"I needed birdies, especially with two par-fives to close. I figured she would birdie at least one of them, if not both, like she did," Pressel said.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but