KAPALUA » Annika Sorenstam walked up the 18th green yesterday to the roar of the Kapalua LPGA Classic crowd—the greatest women's golfer of her generation playing in Hawaii for the final time.

“;It's very special, I'm lucky, I've gotten a few,”; Sorenstam said of the standing ovation she received as she marked her golf ball. “;It's not something you get every day by any means. I will remember all those times.”;

Two weeks after winning the SBS Open at Turtle Bay, the first full-field event on the LPGA Tour, the world's No. 2-ranked player announced she was retiring from golf. She gave Maui fans a thrill by birdieing the last hole in the final full-field event of 2008 to receive another rousing round of applause.

She tipped her cap, signed her card and walked out of the scorer's tent comfortable in the knowledge that she had played her best, finishing at 2-over 290. Had she not shot a 5-over 77 during the opening round, who knows, she might have been in it at the end.

“;Sometimes it's hard to get motivated, but after the first round I was very motivated,”; Sorenstam said of her first tour of the Bay Course at Kapalua in blustery conditions.

“;Yeah, I made a few mistakes there, but after that, I at least shot 4 under in tough conditions. I do feel very good about my game, I know the score doesn't reflect that and that's really the bottom line in golf. I'm hitting the ball well. What can I tell you? To play good golf, there are a lot of factors to fit in.”;

Sorenstam will go from here to China and make a brief swing through Asia. She has six golf tournaments left before she marries Mike McGee on Jan. 10 in their home in Florida and begins her new life. At this point, competitive golf is the farthest thing from her mind.

“;I've made that decision and it is the right one for me,”; Sorenstam said.

Ochoa closes with 71

It wasn't the score Lorena Ochoa was hoping for, but the best player in the world will take it, as she finished tied for 14th at 1-under 287 for the tournament. She had only one round in the 60s as she struggled with the windy conditions, particularly on the greens. This is the first time in the last seven tournaments that she didn't land in the top 10.

“;I wish I were still on the golf course,”; Ochoa said as the top players made their way over the closing holes. “;But I had a good time here. It's a wonderful golf course, a great place to play.”;

Ochoa will return to Mexico to prepare to host her own tournament in November, something she is very excited about.

“;It's a dream come true,”; Ochoa said. “;It's going to be the most important day of my professional career. Everybody down in Guadalajara has worked hard to get ready. I can't wait to be there in two weeks.”;

Lewis goes low

Young Texan Stacy Lewis will still have to go to Q-school to earn her LPGA Tour card, but she came achingly close to finishing among the top 80 money winners to earn an automatic exemption during her short tenure on tour this year.

Playing on her sixth and final sponsor's exemption, the Arkansas graduate, who stunned the world by finishing in a tie for third at the U.S. Women's Open in June, flashed her brilliance once more by carding a closing 66 yesterday, the best round of the tournament.

Had she finished in third, she would have missed by $200, but by day's end, Lewis placed in a tie for sixth at 3-under 285, much to her relief.

“;Missing by $200 would have been hard to take,”; said Lewis, who played last week at the Longs Drugs Challenge, finishing in a tie for 40th. “;It's been so much fun playing out here and learning to play out here. Today, and this week, I finally played well. I've learned a lot more in these six weeks on tour than I have during two years of college.”;

Inside the numbers

The scoring average for the final round was 73.357, a half-stroke higher than Saturday. Once again, the hardest hole was the par-4 11th with a scoring average of 4.543 with only two birdies, 33 pars, 30 bogeys and five double bogeys.

The easiest hole was the par-5 15th at 4.400. There were four eagles, 37 birdies, 26 pars and three bogeys, including one by Suzann Pettersen that proved costly.