U.S. WOMEN'S OPEN

art
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Annika Sorenstam and Pat Hurst hugged after winding up in a tie atop the field after playing 36 holes together yesterday at the U.S. Women's Open. The two will take part in an 18-hole playoff today to decide the champion of the top-paying event in women's golf.

Sorenstam, Hurst meet in playoff today

By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press

NEWPORT, R.I. » The birdie putt played a dirty trick on Annika Sorenstam, raising her hopes that 10 years of frustration in the U.S. Women's Open was about to end.

Tied for the lead with Pat Hurst on the final hole of a marathon yesterday, she took two quick strides to her right as the 30-foot putt tracked toward the hole, her eyes wide as the ball dipped into the cup ever so slightly, then dipped out just as suddenly.

"It looked good for a long time," Sorenstam said.

Now, she gets one more day at Newport Country Club, an 18-hole playoff against Hurst to decide the biggest prize in women's golf.

Hurst did her part, making a superb par save from 20 yards short of the 18th green by holing a 5-foot putt.

"I'd die for this," Hurst said. "This is what we live for."

They played 36 holes together on a warm, blustery afternoon along the Atlantic shore, both taking 144 shots and settling nothing.

Hurst tumbled out of the lead with a 75 in the third round yesterday morning, then posted a 2-under 69 in the final round, matching the best score of the tournament. Sorenstam shot 73 in the morning, and was headed for an ugly collapse -- 4 over in three holes -- until scratching her way back to the top of the leaderboard.

They finished at even-par 284, both spending nearly 11 hours on the golf course.

"OK, Pat, see you tomorrow," Sorenstam said she told her.

The other two LPGA Tour majors this year also ended in playoffs, with Karrie Webb winning the Kraft Nabisco on the first extra hole and Se Ri Pak winning the LPGA Championship with a 4-iron utility to 2 inches on the first sudden-death playoff hole.

This one is 18 holes of stroke play starting at 9 a.m., the first at the U.S. Women's Open since 2003.

Michelle Wie won't be around this time, either, although she had her chances.

The 16-year-old from Hawaii was tied for the lead with six holes to play until failing to save par from a bunker on the 13th hole, then making pars the rest of the way. She closed with a 72 and tied for third with Pak and Stacy Prammanasudh at 2-over 286.

Juli Inkster, among five players tied for the lead at one point during the long day at Newport, lost her hope of becoming the oldest major champion in women's golf when she three-putted for bogey on the par-3 16th. She closed with a 73 and finished at 287.

As for the playoff, the advantage goes to Sorenstam.

Along with being the No. 1 player in women's golf with 67 victories and nine majors (Hurst has five victories and one major), the Swede is 14-5 in playoffs, twice making Hurst her victim.

"I'm right where I want to be," Sorenstam said. "Let's do something about it."

They have homes near Lake Tahoe, and a small piece of acrimony in the Solheim Cup. Hurst was playing with Kelly Robbins at Loch Lomond in 2000 when Sorenstam holed a 25-foot chip for birdie, and the Americans made her play the shot again when they determined Sorenstam went out of turn.

"I think everything has been cleared away, and we get along great now," Hurst said.

It looked like a playoff would not be necessary when Sorenstam holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the 15th to tie Hurst for the lead, then pulled one shot ahead with a 20-foot birdie on the 16th.

But on the par-3 17th, Sorenstam hit a 6-iron that hopped hard and wound up some 30 yards beyond the hole and over the green. She chipped 8 feet past the cup and missed her par putt, leaving them tied going to the 18th.

Hurst caught a huge break when her tee shot landed just beyond a small creek and she had a decent lie in the thick rough. But the best she could do was run the ball toward the green, and it came up 40 yards short of the hole. She chipped 5 feet from the pin, then had to wait to see if Sorenstam would deliver another stunning finish at an LPGA Tour major this year.

Not yet.

The 35-year-old Swede started walking to the right in anticipation of the putt dropping, and when it caught a portion of the right lip of the cup, Sorenstam covered her head in disbelief.

"I knew by her reaction it was pretty darn close," Hurst said.

For all the birdies Hurst has made this week at Newport, it was a par that meant the most.

"The feelings that you get, it's indescribable," she said of her par putt. "To have that chance to make that putt and make it to go into a playoff, it's something you dream about."

She'll wake up in the morning and face 18 holes against Sorenstam, with $560,000 on the line.

Along with that grand prize, Hurst can score a rare trifecta -- joining Joanne Carner as the only players to win the U.S. Junior Girls, U.S. Women's Amateur and U.S. Women's Open.


U.S. Women's Open

At Newport, R.I.
Purse: $3.1 million
Final round, par-71
a-amateur
x-will play 18-hole playoff this morning
x-Pat Hurst 69-71-75-69 -- 284
x-Annika Sorenstam 69-71-73-71 -- 284
Stacy Prammanasudh, $156,038 72-71-71-72 -- 286
Se Ri Pak, $156,038 69-74-74-69 -- 286
Michelle Wie, $156,038 70-72-71-73 -- 286
Juli Inkster, $103,575 73-70-71-73 -- 287
Brittany Lincicome, $93,026 72-72-69-78 -- 291
Rachel Hetherington, $82,460 74-72-73-73 -- 292
Shi Hyun Ahn, $82,460 71-71-74-76 -- 292
a-Amanda Blumenherst 70-77-73-73 -- 293
Jee Young Lee, $66,174 71-75-70-77 -- 293
Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, $66,174 72-73-73-75 -- 293
Sophie Gustafson, $66,174 72-72-71-78 -- 293
Young Kim, $66,174 75-69-75-74 -- 293
a-Jane Park 69-73-75-76 -- 293
Natalie Gulbis, $53577 76-71-74-73 -- 294
Sherri Turner, $53577 72-74-76-72 -- 294
Paula Creamer, $53577 71-72-76-75 -- 294
Catriona Matthew, $48,007 74-76-72-73 -- 295
Karen Stupples, $41,654 78-72-70-76 -- 296
Gloria Park, $41,654 70-78-76-72 -- 296
Kristina Tucker, $41,654 72-74-74-76 -- 296
Lorena Ochoa, $41,654 71-73-77-75 -- 296
Shani Waugh, $32,873 77-72-73-75 -- 297
Amy Hung, $32,873 76-72-77-72 -- 297
Sherri Steinhauer, $32,873 72-75-72-78 -- 297
Lorie Kane, $32,873 73-72-75-77 -- 297
Morgan Pressel, $22,529 76-74-75-73 -- 298
Ai Miyazato, $22,529 74-75-70-79 -- 298
Suzann Pettersen, $22,529 73-74-75-76 -- 298
Carin Koch, $22,529 74-73-73-78 -- 298
Cristie Kerr, $22,529 73-74-75-76 -- 298
Tracy Hanson, $22,529 75-71-78-74 -- 298
Becky Morgan, $22,529 70-74-77-77 -- 298
Candie Kung, $22,529 74-70-77-77 -- 298
Jeong Jang, $22,529 72-71-75-80 -- 298
Dawn Coe-Jones, $17,647 74-75-73-77 -- 299
Karrie Webb, $17,647 73-76-74-76 -- 299
Heather Young, $17,647 76-71-77-75 -- 299
Lindsey Wright, $17,647 74-73-76-76 -- 299
Wendy Ward, $14,954 77-73-77-73 -- 300
Yu Ping Lin, $14,954 76-74-75-75 -- 300
Maria Hjorth, $14,954 74-75-73-78 -- 300
Aree Song, $14,954 77-72-79-72 -- 300
Mi Hyun Kim, $14,954 75-72-75-78 -- 300
Julieta Granada, $12,566 76-73-79-73 -- 301
Yuri Fudoh, $12,556 73-76-75-77 -- 301
Nancy Scranton, $12,556 75-71-77-78 -- 301
Karin Sjodin, $10,052 78-72-76-76 -- 302
Alena Sharp $10,052 77-72-77-76 -- 302
Dana Dormann $10,052 74-74-78-76 -- 302
Siew-Ai Lim $10,052 74-74-78-76 -- 302
Seon-Hwa Lee $10,052 75-73-80-74 -- 302
Angela Stanford $10,052 72-76-77-77 -- 302
Karine Icher, $8,749 73-77-79-74 -- 303
Moira Dunn, $8,749 75-74-76-78 -- 303
Diana Luna, $8,154 77-73-77-77 -- 304
a-Ashley Knoll 77-72-76-79 -- 304
Silvia Cavalleri, $8,154 71-77-81-75 -- 304
Rosie Jones, $8,154 72-75-80-77 -- 304
Nicole Castrale, 8,154 74-71-80-79 -- 304
Beth Bader, $7,746 75-73-77-80 -- 305
Dina Ammaccapane, $7,620 76-74-79-77 -- 306
Sung Ah Yim, $7,432 70-79-75-83 -- 307
Denise Munzlinger, $7,432 75-74-79-79 -- 307
Kim Saiki, $7,243 71-78-81-79 -- 309
a-Kimberly Kim 77-71-78-83 -- 309
Lynnette Brooky, $7,107 75-75-76-85 -- 311



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