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Sorenstam gets first win of year
Annika Sorenstam shot a final-round 1-under-par 71 Sunday to win the Office Depot Championship by four strokes.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:48 AM IST
Read Time:3 min
Los Angeles:
Annika Sorenstam shot a final-round 1-under-par 71 Sunday to win the Office Depot Championship by four strokes. Defending champion Se Ri Pak of South Korea, Pat Hurst and Heather Bowie finished tied for second. "Right now, I'm totally relieved. I fought so hard," said Sorenstam, who struggled for much of the three-day tournament. "My game hasn't been on top, but I fought through it." Sorenstam finished at 5-under 211. Pak, Pat Hurst and Heather Bowie tied for second at 215. Pak shot 71 Sunday, Hurst had a 72 and Bowie a 73. Sorenstam played well in her first two events this year, but winning 11 times in 2002 created some lofty expectations. "This is only April, and I'm very, very tired," she said. "Even though I haven't played any in January or February, a lot as been going on. I feel it in my head. I am worn out mentally." Sorenstam has been at the center of a whirlwind of attention since she accepted a sponsor's exemption to play against the men in the Colonial on May 22-25 in Fort Worth, Texas. She will become the first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour. "I've had a lot of attention the last two months," she said. "Obviously, something big is going to happen at Colonial, and I look forward to it. I would never do it, with all the hoopla, if I didn't think I would enjoy it. "Right now I just want to enjoy this win, and my next week off, and start from there." Sorenstam's final round at El Caballero Country Club was similar to her first two - a mix of grimaces and smiles. She began Sunday with two bogeys, frowning and shaking her head after three-putting on the par-5 No. 1. "You think, 'You can go 500 yards with your first two shots, then take four shots for the last 20 feet'," Sorenstam said. "Bogey-bogey was not a good start, and I started struggling with myself." Her frown turned into a grin by the end of No. 7, when she rolled in her third consecutive birdie putt. "I would hit great shots, then I would hit something out of the blue," she said. "It was really a roller-coaster day." Fast, sloping greens kept scores relatively high, and Sorenstam and the group at 215 were the only players to finish the 54-hole event under par. Last year, a late charge by Sorenstam fell just short and left her in second place, one stroke behind Pak. Pak said she was happy with her play this time, but not completely happy. "I was 5 over after my first 11 holes here," she said of her shaky start Friday, when she shot a 73. "It was tough here, windy and cold the first two days, and the course played really, really hard. Judging the speed on the greens was really difficult." Pak, playing in a group ahead of Sorenstam, said she was aware she had a chance to catch the leader. "But I knew she was going to play well," Pak said. "The way she has played the last couple of years, she is never going to give up easily." Sorenstam's win was the 43rd LPGA title for the 32-year-old Swedish star. Her dominant performances in 2002 earned her a fifth LPGA player of the year award. This year, she finished tied for third at Phoenix, where Pak won, and one stroke behind winner French Patricia Meunier-Lebouc last week in the Kraft Nabisco, the first women's major of the year. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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