Sorenstam's putter brings Takefuji title

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i — Unbeatable and all but unbelievable, Annika Sorenstam relentlessly rolled on yesterday, draining four birdie putts in five holes to pass Lorie Kane, then birdieing the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Takefuji Classic.

Annika Sorenstam birdied the first playoff hole to win the first tournament title of the 2002 LPGA season. West HawaiÎi Today

Last week she warmed up for the first Takefuji Classic at Waikoloa's Beach Course by winning the Australian Ladies Masters in a playoff with Karrie Webb — the LPGA's other other-worldly golfer. Yesterday, she won the first LPGA event of 2002 with a breathtaking putting display on the back nine.

Between Nos. 12-16, she buried four birdie putts between 10 and 28 feet. Sorenstam surged to 14-under par, a shot ahead of defending champion Lorie Kane, who had led since the fifth hole.

Sorenstam was so lost in "the zone" she started telling her caddy "I got it" before putts dropped.

"I just felt great over it," Sorenstam said. "I saw the line right away. Great feel ... great feel all week actually. The ball went pretty much in the center every time. It was really sweet. It came off the face and I knew it was good. It was one of those feelings you love."

Kane rallies

Kane knew it was coming and couldn't do anything about it, but she gave it a gritty shot. After 10 consecutive pars — her only bogey all week came on her fifth hole of the tournament — and mere minutes after losing her advantage, she ripped an approach shot to three feet on the 17th hole and sank the putt to tie Sorenstam.

On the 54th hole (525-yard par-5), Sorenstam laid up her second shot 80 yards short of the hole, hit her sand wedge 35 feet from the pin and two-putted for par. Kane's third shot was 20 feet left of the hole. Her putt to win in regulation was grabbed by the grain of the grass and sped into the low side of the hole. It took a look and spun out.

Kane chased the putt, raised her fist and grimaced before grinning.

"I thought I had it," she admitted. "It hit almost all of the hole ... It's too bad we don't get half points, or judging maybe. Nah, I guess we don't want to be like the figure skaters."

Sorenstam strong in playoff

They went back to the 18th hole for the playoff. Sorenstam had a 10-3 playoff record, having won her last five since falling to Webb in the 2000 Takefuji; Kane was 2-4, winning her last two.

This time her third shot stopped 10 feet right of the hole. Sorenstam laid her second shot up again so she could hit her sand wedge. This time she was 81 yards away — "in my own divot practically" — and she finessed her third shot to a soft stop four feet below the hole.

Kane shook her head, then hit her birdie putt so hard it did not break into the hole.

"I needed that speed earlier," she said.

Sorenstam punched in her $135,000 birdie as if she had done it 31 times before, which she had, now coming from behind 11 times to win. All that's keeping her out of the LPGA Hall of Fame is the 10-year membership requirement. She will be inducted at the end of the 2003 season.

Sorenstam closed with a 4-under 66 to Kane's 67 as both finished at 14-under 196.

The previous tournament record was 11-under, which Kane set last year at Kona Country Club. That day she and Sorenstam also played together, with the Canadian cruising home two shots ahead after a final-round 6-under 66.

"Last year it looked like Lorie was playing a little more aggressive," Sorenstam said. "On the back nine I remember one par-3 where she hit a 5-iron right at the flag, no worries whatsoever. Today she looked a little tentative. She had a three-shot lead and I think she tried to protect that. That's what it looked like.

"None of us were doing anything and suddenly I birdied four out of five holes. That woke her up a little and she was more aggressive on 17."

It was too late. Kane traced her disappointment back to the eighth and ninth holes, where she let six-foot birdie putts get away.

What could have been a five-shot advantage remained at three, until Sorenstam found a phone booth and became Superwoman once again.

"I always believe that top players like her, Karrie and Se Ri (Pak) will rise to the occasion," Kane said. "There's never a doubt in my mind. You have to assume they're going to hole every shot. That's why they are where they are. Annika had a lot of chances the first two days to bring it around so I knew sooner or later she had to make something. You just have to be prepared for that and I was. I tried to call her on every shot she hit. I think I pushed her a little bit. That's what I hope to do all year."

When it was over, Sorenstam said she was "overwhelmed — super-happy" and genuinely looked surprised. She might have been the only one. Sorenstam has set her expectations far beyond what she accomplished last year, even admitting the thought of winning every tournament had crossed her analytical mind, despite the fact "the margins are so small in golf."

No one has stopped her yet this year.

Bad break for Fujii

Japan pro Kasumi Fujii, 34, clung to a two-shot advantage going into the final round after shooting 61 on Friday. That disappeared with several swipes of her hand by the ocean at the par-5 third hole.

Fujii, who got into the tournament on a sponsor's exemption, was penalized two strokes for removing loose impediments from her line while she was still off the green, transforming birdie into bogey. Kane and Sorenstam both tried to stop her from the infraction, but were too late with their warnings.

When Kane two-putted the signature hole for birdie she was suddenly tied for the lead at 12-under.

Sorenstam added an exclamation point to the weirdness when she chipped from the green on her third shot to get around the bunker that created Fujii's housekeeping problems. Sorenstam two-putted for par and remained two shots back.

After pars at the next hole, Fujii shot herself out of the lead — and ultimately contention — when she hooked her drive into the lava, missed her approach shot and took triple bogey.

An inspired rally mid-round got her back to 11-under — two behind Kane — but that was close as she would come.

Fujii (72) finished fifth, a shot behind behind Heather Bowie and Gloria Park, who both shot 65 to tie for third at 12-under 198. Bowie, a third-year pro from Arizona, tied her career-best finish. Park, a third-year pro from Australia via Seoul, won her first tournament last year.

SHORT PUTTS: Former Rainbow Wahine Cindy Flom closed with a 77 and was 72nd. ... In an embarrassing reminder of the Sony Open in Hawai'i — where a ringing cell phone affected John Cook's swing on the 17th hole — Annika Sorenstam had to wait while she was addressing the ball on the first tee to allow someone to answer their cell. ... Natalie Gulbis (68-206) finished 18th in her first tournament as a member of the LPGA. Gulbis, 19, from Sacramento, Calif., was the only American to earn exempt status at last year's LPGA Qualifying Tournament. Until this week, when 12-year-old Michelle Wie qualified for the Takefuji, Gulbis was the youngest to Monday qualify for an LPGA event, at 14. ... Chieko Ananuma, the other sponsor's exemption with Kasumi Fujii, shot 72-210 and came in 38th. Ananuma has won five times on Japan's LPGA Tour and was third on the money list last year. ... Former Hawai'i junior golfer Grace Park shot 64-66 the final two days to finish sixth. ... Takefuji is Japan's largest consumer finance company.