By William Jempty of OTB Sports

A missed six-foot par putt by Paula Creamer handed Annika Sorenstam the Stanford International Pro-Am Championship on the first hole of sudden death just moments after Sorenstam had missed her own ten-foot putt on 18 to put Creamer in the playoff.

A heartbroken Creamer, asked in the interview room about her mentor Nancy Lopez, choked up. ‘The Pink Panther’, who had credited the Hall of Famer for her improved play, felt she had let down her friend and supporter. It was Creamer's first-ever playoff.

Annika Sorenstam won with consistency over the final 18 - a few birdies and one bogey. Craemer did chase down Sorenstam, even briefly moving ahead of her until the seventeenth hole before falling back into a tie. On eighteen, Sorenstam's ball teased the hole on her ten-footer to win the tournament.

Creamer birdied holes 2, 3, 9, and 11 to move into the lead. Pink Panther found danger on the par three seventh and seventeenth holes.

On the seventh, Creamer’s ball landed in the edge of the hazard. In order to have any kind of shot, Creamer had to remove one of her shoes. With one foot in the water, Creamer nearly delivered a miracle shot as the ball hit the flagstick. Rather than drop down into the hole, the ball bounced away.

At seventeen, Creamer’s tee shot flirted with the water. Then a "chunked chip", as Creamer described it later, resulted in a missed fifteen-foot putt for par.

On the first and final hole of sudden death Paula Creamer’s approach to the 18th green was a little long, leaving a fast downhill putt, one that got away from her. The six-footer for par never made it to the hole.

Sorenstam, who's birdie putt was similar to the one she had missed on the final hole of regulation barely missed but tapped in for par. When Creamer missed her par putt, the dramatic contest was over.

Sorenstam’s win qualifies her for the year-ending ADT Championship.

As for  Creamer, she faulted no one but herself for not winning today. “Looking back I made more mistakes than she (Annika) made.”




With all due respect to Sorenstam, the big winner yesterday may have been the tournament itself which featured high-drama with an exciting mix of players competing for the title. The fine play of several rookies and the excellent early play of South Korean Young Kim along with a late charge by Australian Karrie Web who ran off a string of five consecutive birdies on Sunday, on her way to the low round of the tournament. The Australian Hall of Famer who has a Florida home less than an hour from Aventura, started the day at even par. She began her birdie streak at hole number two and ended it at the par five sixth. When she teed off the seventh tee, Webb was five under par and in the thick of the hunt.

Karrie Webb birdied holes 11 and 12, but then could only play even par golf for the last six holes. At the end of the day's round Webb was happy with how she played.

“I hit the ball good again and actually made some putts today, so it was really nice".

Webb’s final round 64 was three shots lower than any round shot prior to Sunday.

The next lowest round of week came from Lindsay Wright. She shot a final round 65 moving her into a tie for ninth place.

Second round leader Young Kim opened the final round two shots back. A birdie four on the par five second after a close approach and a birdie at the par four forth the result of a lengthy fifty foot putt had Kim just one shot out of the lead at the time

Then disaster struck on the seventh hole. A poorly hit tee shot, way short, found the water short right of the green. Kim lost track of the ball off the tee, looking toward the green or somewhere nearby before noticing ripples spreading out across the water. Kim had missed dry land by twenty feet and the hole position by at least fifteen yards, maybe twenty. A double bogey five on the course’s shortest hole was the end result.

Kim followed the seventh hole disaster with another double bogey on the eighth after an errand tee shot was deemed unplayable. After these two double bogeys, Young Kim rallied with a back nine 31 that left her one shot out of the Creamer-Sorenstam playoff.

Another near-miss for the Seoul Sisters and for the "hat lady" is was another third place finish, maintaining her record of never finishing second.

Cristie Kerr, within striking distance of the leaders at the start of the day, managed to remain close until a five hole stretch of five over par golf derailed the US Open Champion’s challenge. Momoko Ueda shot an even par 71 to finish in solo fifth place.

After her previous round with seven birdies, the gallery was hoping for more fireworks from Momoko yet over the final eighteen holes the Japanese rookie could make just one birdie.

A few personal reflections...

Not just because I had a wonderful opportunity to cover the event as a blogger for Newsweek, the Stanford International proved to be the best tournament of the 2008 LPGA season I've seen so far. Plenty of drama involving some of the tour’s top players and a close finish. The amateurs added a dose of fun and celebrity. The tournament had some difficulties including slow play and a difficult course setup, but the end result was about as good as anyone could have hoped for. Give the LPGA and tournament organizers credit for an event that produced in only a few short months. With the few glitches that did crop resolved by next year - and the nearby noisy construction site a memory - the Stanford International is on its way to becoming a fine event.