THE BLOGResults, Results
Results for the Evian Masters
Helen Alfredsson won the Evian Masters Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title in five years, after defeating rookie Na Yeon Choi at the third sudden-death playoff hole. The 43-year-old Swede made a three-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole while the 20-year-old Choi, of South Korea, only managed par. Alfredsson shot a 67, Choi carded 66 and overnight leader Angela Park had a 71 as all finished with 15-under totals of 273 to force a three-way playoff. The 19-year-old Park was eliminated at the first extra hole when her birdie putt rolled around the lip of the cup and stayed out. Alfredsson also won Evian in 1994 and ‘98, but had not won a tournament since the 2003 Longs Drugs Challenge as she has battled a series of injuries. The win at Evian, which is Europe’s richest women’s tournament with a prize purse of $3.25 million, is her sixth on the LPGA Tour and earned her $487,500 and a place in the season-ending ADT Championship. Alfredsson looked an unlikely winner when she made a bogey 5 at the 13th hole, leaving her five shots behind Choi who was at 17 under and threatening the Swede’s course record of 63 set Friday. But Choi dropped shots at 15 and 16, while Alfredsson made a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th and then left her eagle putt at 18 close enough to make birdie and draw level. Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, who led after a first-round 65, shot 68 to place fifth a further shot behind. The 26-year-old Mexican has never won at Evian, where she now has five top-five finishes. Annika Sorenstam, the 2000 and ‘02 champion, shot 68 in her final round at Evian before retiring at the end of the season.
Results for the RBC Canadian Open
Chez Reavie, proudly sporting an Arizona Diamondbacks logo on his light blue shirt, won the national championship Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 1-under 70 in near-perfect conditions for a three-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair. Reavie relies on finesse rather than power. The short-hitter was on the mark in the wire-to-wire win at rain-softened Glen Abbey, hitting 44 of 56 fairways and 54 of 72 greens in regulation. The accurate play was a big factor, with the players allowed to use preferred lies in the fairways all four days. Playing for the sixth straight week, Reavie finished at 17-under 267. He earned $900,000 and spots in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship the next two weeks along with the 2009 Masters. After entering the week with career earnings of $746,414 in 27 PGA Tour starts and 52 Nationwide Tour events, he was amazed when told that he had made $900,000. Sean O’Hair (68) and Steve Marino (70) were 13 under, and Canadian star Mike Weir (69) was another stroke back along with Nicholas Thompson (69) and Scott McCarron (71).
