Cristie Kerr parred the second hole of a sudden-death playoff on Sunday to win the LPGA Kingsmill Championship ahead of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen.
Pettersen had not made a bogey all day, notching four birdies in a four-under-par 67 to join overnight leader Kerr on 12-under-par 272.
Kerr, a winner at Kingsmill in 2005 and 2009, had four birdies and two bogeys in a 69 to maintain a share of the lead and force the playoff.
Photo: AFP
Kerr said she was motivated by having family in the gallery.
“It’s the first time my dad got to see me win, so it’s really special for me,” Kerr said. “I wasn’t going to lose, not today, not with my dad here.”
Thai teenager Ariya Jutanugarn, who had seized the first-round lead on Thursday with a scintillating 64, finished strong with a 66 to share third on 274 with South Korean Lee Il-hee, who carded a 67.
Americans Angela Stanford and Stacy Lewis were tied on 275, Stanford with a final-round 69 and Lewis a 70.
World No. 1 Inbee Park of South Korea finished alone in sixth place after a 67 for 276.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng carded a one-over 72 to finish tied for 24th place on 284, while her compatriot Candie Kung was a further 12 shots off the pace after a 75.
It was the second straight year the Kingsmill Championship was determined in a playoff. Last year, Shin Ji-yai beat Paula Creamer in a nine-hole epic that finished on Monday after darkness halted play.
On Sunday, Kerr and Pettersen played the 18th hole for both playoffs.
Kerr missed a five-foot birdie attempt on the first extra hole to force the second playoff hole.
The American hit her second shot to about 20 feet from the cup, while Pettersen’s second shot rolled off the back of the green. Pettersen’s third halted 15 feet short of the pin.
Kerr tapped in on her second putt for her 16th career LPGA Tour title.
Additional reporting by staff writer
‘EVERYONE SAW’: The visitors were left fuming after Jules Kounde was fouled by Claudio Echeverri in the buildup to the winning goal and it went unpunished Spanish champions Barcelona on Monday fell to a damaging 2-1 defeat at Girona to leave them trailing Real Madrid by two points at the top of La Liga. Los Blancos beat Real Sociedad on Saturday to overtake the Catalans and Hansi Flick’s side could not defeat Girona in an gripping derby clash to reclaim the lead. Teenage star Lamine Yamal missed a penalty for Barcelona, who took the lead through defender Pau Cubarsi just before the hour mark. However, goals from Thomas Lemar and Fran Beltran helped Girona, 12th, mount an impressive comeback. “In the end Girona deserved it, they had a lot of
A dominant Cade Cunningham on Thursday scored 42 points as the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons swatted aside the New York Knicks 126-111 on the NBA’s return from its brief All-Star Game break. Billed as a must-watch clash between two Eastern Conference rivals each in red-hot form, the game at Madison Square Garden became an exhibition for Cunningham, who also provided 13 assists and eight rebounds. The 24-year-old burnished his credentials as a Most Valuable Player contender, helping a young, surprise-package Pistons side to improve the best record in the entire NBA this season so far, to 41-13. After the game, Cunningham said that he
Amanda Anisimova on Monday was handed a walkover into the last 16 of the Dubai Open after her opponent Barbora Krejcikova was forced to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event. The American second seed enters the round-of-16 against Janice Tjen without swinging a racket as two-time Grand Slam winner Krejcikova pulled out due to an issue with her left thigh. They became the seventh and eighth players to pull out, a list that includes the world top two Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. Tjen booked her meeting with Anisimova thanks to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win in her round-of-32 match against 2021 US
MEN’s FREESKI BIG AIR: Norway’s Tormod Frostad found an extra gear under the most intense pressure to post a winning total of 195.50 to top the podium Japanese teenager Ami Nakai on Tuesday set the pace in the Olympic women’s figure skating competition as freestyle skier Tormod Frostad soared to gold in an all-time classic big air final. Nikai, 17, upstaged teammate Kaori Sakamoto at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, while Alysa Liu of the US rounded out a powerful top three after the short program. Sakamoto is searching for an elusive gold at her final Winter Games, but faces a stiff challenge from a new generation of Japanese stars including Nakai and Mone Chiba. The 25-year-old Sakamoto, a relative veteran in the sport, won both of her segments in
RSS