LPGA Corning Classic
CORNING, N.Y. (AP) - Leta Lindley stared in disbelief when the putt disappeared into the cup, and who could blame her.
Lindley's winning birdie came on the first hole of a playoff - her first career victory in her 295th professional start on tour.
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.
Jang and Lindley, with her husband caddying and her young son and daughter watching on television, 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.
Sun Young Yoo (66) and Mi Hyun Kim (66) finished in a tie for third at 10 under.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Defending champ Sabbatini says he's playing better despite his results
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -Rory Sabbatini was on an incredible run even before winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational last year.
Three consecutive top-three finishes, including the runner-up spot at the Masters, came in the stretch before Sabbatini won a three-man playoff at Colonial.
Sabbatini hasn't won since.
And this season, in the same three tournaments where he did so well in the lead-up to last year's Colonial, he missed two cuts and finished 67th in the other this time.
Yet, Sabbatini insists that he's playing better going into this year's Colonial than he was then.
"Last year, even though my scores showed one thing, I wasn't very happy with the state of my game," Sabbatini said Wednesday. "It's been a frustrating year for me. I feel like I'm hitting the ball better than I ever have in my career. I'm not scoring as well as I'd like."
The numbers seem to back up both of his contentions.
Sabbatini returns to Colonial as the 14th-ranked player in the world, two spots higher than at the same point a year ago. But his scoring average of 71 is more than a stroke higher than last season, and he has finished under par only four times his last 20 rounds.
While Sabbatini tries to defend his title, starting Thursday, 2000 champion Phil Mickelson is back at Colonial for the first time in three years.
Mickelson is also coming back from a week off spent partly on a golf course, acting not playing. He played himself in a scene shot for an episode of HBO's "Entourage" scheduled to air later this year.
The world's No. 2 golfer got plenty of air time leading up to Colonial. He was featured in the tournament's promotional television spots for sponsor Crowne Plaza, meeting with actual people he'd hit with golf balls and Mickelson look-a-likes.
"They were fun to do," Mickelson said.
But now the focus is back on golf.
Before heading to Texas, Mickelson practiced last weekend and then played Tuesday at Torrey Pines, the hometown course where he grew up playing and the site of the U.S. Open next month.
"I'm hitting the ball well. The short game is coming around. I think it will be a good week," he said. "This is a great course for ball-striking. I am excited to play a course with such tight fairways and firm fairways with some of the changes that I've made in the last year. .... I was looking at these tee shots differently. It was kind of cool."
Ben Hogan is still the only player to win consecutive Colonials. He did that twice (1946-47, 1952-53).
Sabbatini was 27th two weeks ago at The Players Championship, his best finish in eight tournaments he's played since consecutive top-three finishes in January. He said his game suffered after he had the flu early in the season.
"I played well, got sick. ... It took a lot out of me," Sabbatini said. "By the end of the West Coast, I was so drained of energy, bascially I let a couple of areas creep in my game. You start practicing bad habits, just not being as focused as you need to be out there, and all of a sudden those habits are kind of ingrained."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Canada's DeCorso wins 1st Nationwide Tour title
VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) -Canada's Bryan DeCorso won the South Georgia Classic on Sunday for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Greg Owen and Bryce Molder.
The 36-year-old DeCorso had a 14-under 274 total on the 7,781-yard Kinderlou Forest County Club course, the longest in Nationwide Tour history.
He earned $112,500 to jump from 38th to fourth on the money list with $148,976. The top 25 at the end of the season will earn 2009 PGA Tour cards.
"I think this eclipses my career-best check by about $100,000," DeCorso said.
"Three weeks ago, I changed everything. Thanks to my new swing coach, Greg Towne, for such a quick turnaround on my game. I went into the swing change thinking long term. My goal has been to shoot all four rounds in the 60s. I achieved that goal and I'm very proud of myself for sticking to my game plan all week."
The former Kent State players finished fourth last week in the Henrico County Open.
"I don't think I had any patience last week in the final round," DeCorso said.
"You can learn from everything. Today I kept to my routine, I didn't get quick. I had no idea where I stood. I told my caddie to tell me on the 18th tee where I stood only if I needed a birdie to tie. I didn't want to know."
Molder closed with a 69, and Owen shot a 72.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Watson, North combine to win Legends of Golf by one stroke
SAVANNAH, Georgia (AP) -Tom Watson and Andy North got what they wanted, but had to work for it, edging Craig Stadler and Jeff Sluman by a stroke Sunday in the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
Watson and North teamed for a better-ball 64 at The Club at Savannah Harbor for a 31-under 185 total. Stadler and Sluman shot a 61 on the island course in the middle of the Savannah River. Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam (60) finished two strokes back.
"To hit quality shots when it counts, that's what makes me tingle," said Watson, who won the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am on the U.S. seniors golf tour last week in Florida.
They started the day with a four-stroke lead, but in a format that produces tons of birdies, it wasn't surprising that others finally made a run at Watson and North.
"I birdied No. 11," Sluman said. "But, I had eagled it the previous two days, so Craig was a little disappointed there."
Stadler and Sluman, playing one hole ahead of Watson and North, had consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-14. During that run, Sluman's chip within 4 feet on the 13th pulled them into a tie with the leaders at 28 under.
But North broke the tie with a 15-footer a few minutes later on the 13th. Stadler got his team to 29 under with a chip to 2 feet at No. 14, but Watson matched it from 6 feet when he got to the 14th, regaining the lead.
Stadler birdied No. 16, but Watson, after first backing off to let an insect crawl out of his line to the cup, sealed it with a birdie on No. 17.
"I hit a chip to about 18 feet on 17 and rattled that one right in there," Watson said.
Watson and North, who have played 162 consecutive holes together without a bogey, had campaigned loud and long for the Legends to return to a team format. They paired up to win the Raphael Division the last three years, but it was always unofficial money. Only the Legends Division was official money, and it was individual play.
"We worked so hard to get this format," said North, who earned $225,000 (?144,270) for his share of this win. "We felt it was really important to play well."
This was North's first win - or share of a win - since the 1985 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Ochoa chasing leader, 4th consecutive LPGA victory
REUNION, Fla. (AP) -Even though Lorena Ochoa spends a lot of time out front, she prefers to play from behind.
So she's right where she wants to be heading into the third round of the Ginn Open. Ochoa shot a 5-under 67 in the second round Friday, leaving her three strokes behind leader Yani Tseng.
Tseng moved to 12 under with a course-record 64. Suzann Pettersen (66) was 10 under, one shot ahead of Ochoa and Minea Blomqvist (66).
"I like coming from behind," said Ochoa, looking for her fourth consecutive victory on the LPGA Tour. "I don't think you have the pressure to be on top for four days. I really like where I am right now. I feel comfortable where I am. It's nice to be a few shots behind."
Ochoa missed every birdie putt she had during the first eight holes, but got things going on the par-5 ninth. She just missed the green with her second shot, chipped to 6 feet and then sank the putt.
She followed with four more on the back nine, including an up-and-down from a green-side bunker at No. 10 and a 20-footer from the fringe on the 13th.
She needed every one of them to stay close to Tseng, a rookie from Taiwan who earned her card in qualifying school last year.
Tseng's best round on tour was one stroke better than Cristie Kerr's opening round at the Ginn in 2006. It also was three shots shy of her career low round, a 62 she shot as a junior in Indonesia. She ended that round with an eagle.
She finished with a disappointing bogey Friday.
Knowing a 62 was within reach, Tseng said she was "trying too hard the last three holes." It really cost her on No. 18, when she pushed her tee shot into a bunker, had to lay up from there, then played a safe shot to the green that ended up 17 feet from the pin. She just missed the long par putt.
Nonetheless, Tseng was ecstatic with her round that included five consecutive birdies and seven putts of 10 feet or longer.
"It was awesome," she said. "I feel I have a lot of confidence for my putting."
Every aspect of her game has been pretty solid this year. She ranks fifth in scoring average and has five top-25 finishes in as many starts.
She spent most of Friday atop the leaderboard.
When Pettersen saw Tseng at 13 under, she thought, "Whoa, what course is she playing?"
"I was a little surprised when I saw that number," Pettersen said.
Tseng had hoped to start the third round in the final group with Ochoa. But Pettersen birdied her final hole - she just missed an eagle putt - and knocked Ochoa out of the closing threesome.
Now, Tseng will have to settle for watching Ochoa from afar. But given Ochoa's recent run, Tseng might get a pretty good show.
The world's No. 1 player has won four of five starts this year - by a combined 34 shots - and has three straight victories. Two of those wins came after the 26-year-old Mexican trailed early. She overcame a three-shot deficit at the Safeway International and was down a stroke after the opening round at the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
"Even when I'm winning, I try to think that I'm behind and try to play my own game and make a lot of birdies," Ochoa said. "That's the only way to keep good focus and play good."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Lefty tumbles off leaderboard on day for going low
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -Phil Mickelson stared out toward the 18th green, shook his head slightly, rubbed his chin and tried to figure out where it all went wrong.
On a day for going low, Lefty went south.
Mickelson won't need to worry about clearing a spot in his closet for a third green jacket, not after a dismal Saturday afternoon at Augusta National.
It was moving day, all right, but he moved in the wrong direction. Coming in just three strokes off the lead, Mickelson stumbled his way through a 3-over 75 that knocked him out contention heading to the final round.
"A disappointing day, obviously," Mickelson said. "I didn't play very well, and it was a day where there were some low scores out there. The greens were soft, the rain softened the course, and I thought there were some low scores. I just didn't shoot one of them."
Indeed, more than half the field shot par or better after heavy showers drenched the course just past lunchtime, causing a 45-minute delay and softening up those slick Augusta greens. Seven players shot in the 60s. Another six were at 70 or 71. Eleven more shot even-par 72.
And then there was Mickelson, whose score beat only seven other players and was epitomized by two dismal holes.
At the par-5 eighth, his third shot was right on the flag - literally. It struck the stick and spun back toward the fairway, nearly rolling off the green instead of staying up near the cup. He zoomed the putt 4 feet past the hole, then missed the comebacker. Instead of a likely birdie, he wound up with bogey.
That misfortune seemed to unnerve Mickelson, who bogeyed 10 and 12, but he appeared to collect himself with back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14.
Then there was No. 6, the 170-yarder known as Redbud. Ian Poulter had a hole-in-one there on Thursday, but this time the pin was tucked in the back right side of the green, a difficult placement that surrendered only four birdies Saturday and made it the fourth-toughest hole on the course.
The safe play was to lay it out left of the flag, take two putts and get out of there with a par. But Mickelson yanked an 8-iron into the one place he couldn't - the back right bunker. There was no way to blast it out of sand and keep it on the top tier of the green, so all he could do was watch his ball roll back toward the left fringe, leaving a good 60 feet just to save par.
"You can't miss it right there, and I know that," Mickelson said. "You just have to hit it left and try to make par."
He could even make bogey. Mickelson didn't give the uphill putt a hard enough whack and it came to a stop about 10 feet short. He missed that one, too, and took a 5. As he walked toward 17, he knew that any realistic hope of making a charge on Sunday was gone.
Trevor Immelman maintained the lead with his third straight round in the 60s, leaving him at 11-under 205 after three rounds. Mickelson is nine strokes back, needing a comeback of historic proportions to catch Immelman.
Jackie Burke overcame an eight-shot deficit on the final day to win in 1956, but he was aided by the collapse of amateur Ken Venturi. Even if the top four players on the leaderboard - none of them major winners - fall apart, there's still that guy in fifth place.
Tiger Woods shot a 68 and is three shots clear of Mickelson. Hard to imagine the world's greatest player collapsing as well.
"I've just got to go out there and shoot a really low score," Mickelson said.
Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, followed up a second-round 68 with a 75 of his own. He bogeyed six out of 10 holes in one stretch, leaving him at even par and 11 strokes off the lead.
Poulter's ace was a distant memory as he struggled through a birdie-less round. He bogeyed No. 9, took a double-bogey at the end and settled for pars on the other 16 holes. Yep, mark off another potential contender with a 75.
But the Englishman has never won a major, so his slide wasn't totally unexpected.
Mickelson, on the other hand, had three majors on his resume and is generally regarded as the best player in the world not named Tiger. He's won two titles at Augusta in the last four years. On Saturday, though, Mickelson looked as though he was playing here for the first time.
It was an old bugaboo - the putter. In addition to that miss at No. 8, he botched putts of less than 10 feet at both 12 and 15, the latter costing him a third straight birdie.
"If I knock that putt in, I'm back to even for the round, which was the goal," said Mickelson, who started the day at 5 under. "I thought I hit it closer. ... I thought it was 2 feet and instead it was 6. I didn't really putt those that well today, so when I missed that, well, that could have been a big momentum booster."
It was pretty much over by the time he got to 18. He drove it in a bunker, then knocked his second shot off a TV tower. Mickelson pulled off a delicate chip to save par, but it really didn't matter at that point.
"It's one of those things where I think people who watch TV think, 'Oh, I can't believe Phil is hitting bad shots,"' said Steve Flesch, who played with Mickelson and wound being the best left-hander on the course.
"I feel his pain because we have all gone through it. Unfortunately, it's on a stage where it's going out across the world. Everybody is seeing it."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Zach Johnson's Masters win puts putter back in limelight
FRANKLIN, Tennessee (AP) -Last April, Jim Grundberg and Jason Pouliot had a three-year plan for their small putter company.
Then Zach Johnson used their putter to outplay Tiger Woods and capture the Masters. The co-owners of the SeeMore Putter Co. had to change course - fast.
Business suddenly was booming.
"Before Zach won the Masters, we were doing maybe two orders a day," Pouliot said. "Not even 10 minutes after he put on the green jacket, we were doing one every five minutes."
The company's rise and fall and rise again mirrors the two stars to use the putter - Johnson and the late Payne Stewart. The golfers' pictures clutter the walls of the company's headquarters in a Nashville suburb and highlight the good times that separate a rough eight-year period.
"I don't think most people even realized the putter was still around," said Pat O'Brien, Johnson's putting coach, who bases his teachings on Stewart's use of the club. "Zach won the Masters and poof, now it's in the hands of a ton of golfers. Suddenly, the putter is cool."
The putter designed in 1997 by California teaching pro Jim Weeks has a simple concept now called the Riflescope Technology alignment system. The club has a red oval on top of the heel, directly behind the shaft. If the position is proper, a golfer standing over the ball can't see the dot because of the shaft.
The club didn't resonate with most golfers until Stewart used one to sink the a 15-foot putt and win the 1999 U.S. Open.
But his death in a freak plane crash later that year left the company without its only household name on the U.S. PGA Tour.
"The brand went down with Payne," Grundberg said.
Weeks struggled to sell the club and ended up selling most of the company to an investment group led by Tim Raymond and Greg Kuppler.
SeeMore continued to struggle and was almost dormant when purchased in 2006 by former Odyssey executives Pouliot and Grundberg.
The new owners hadn't even had a chance to decorate their offices when Masters week arrived. They were glued to the television like all avid golf fans who couldn't flock to Augusta. The weekend was filled with a slew of up-and-down phone calls, shoes thrown at televisions and deals made with God.
Vaughn Taylor, another SeeMore user, led briefly in the second round before sputtering off the leaderboard. Then came Sunday when Johnson outputted Woods to win the coveted jacket.
Or, as Grundberg said, SeeMore slayed the golfing giants - Nike, Wilson, Ping, Titleist, among others.
"Monday morning, we didn't have enough phone lines to keep up with all the calls," said Grundberg.
"I had to look at a map to find some countries that were calling," Grundberg said. "We had orders coming from Brunei. I said, 'Where the heck is Brunei?' Who knew it was a small country in the South Pacific? But there it was, right there on the map."
Suddenly everybody wanted a putter from a company with about 10 employees with 15-20 workers from independent contractors. Who needs an advertising budget when you've got a Masters champ using your putter?
"Look at how many large, oversized putters people bought after Jack Nicklaus was winning," O'Brien said. "That's sort of what Zach has done for them."
Grundberg said the company had 50 accounts before the 2007 Masters. Four months after Johnson's win, SeeMore is up to 500 and projecting 1,000 by the end of this year.
All for a product that, except for its paint, has hardly ever changed.
"Zach has allowed us to tell the putter's story again," Grundberg said. "He has built a bridge for the putter from Payne Stewart to the present."
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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