THE BLOGA Little Catch Up
Australia’s Katherine Hull won the Canadian Women’s Open on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, taking advantage of Yani Tseng’s final-round meltdown for a one-stroke victory at Ottawa Hunt. The 26-year-old Hull, six strokes behind Tseng at the start of the round, shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 11-under 277. Se Ri Pak closed with a 72 to finish second, and Tseng’s 77 left her two strokes behind at 9 under. Hull, the former Pepperdine star who second behind Meena Lee in the 2005 tournament at Glen Arbour in Nova Scotia for her best previous LPGA Tour finish, had four birdies and a bogey Sunday. She earned $337,500. Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, the 2007 winner at Royal Mayfair in Alberta, shot a 73 to tie for fourth with Sun Young Yoo (69) and Song-Hee Kim (70) at 7 under. Annika Sorenstam, leaving the Tour at the end of the season, had weekend round of 76 and 74 to tie for 21st at 2 over. Michelle Wie, using the last of her six LPGA Tour exemptions this year, tied for 12th at 3 under. She had rounds of 75, 70, 69 and 71. Lorie Kane was the top Canadian, finishing at 4 over. The 43-year-old from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, finished third in 2001 and fifth in 2004.
Carl Pettersson was one imperfect hole from leading the full final two rounds of the Wyndham Championship. It was that brief slip-up that propelled the Swede to victory in his adopted hometown. Pettersson won his local tournament for his first PGA Tour victory in two years, shooting a 2-under 68 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory at Sedgefield Country Club. Irked by a bogey on the 11th hole that temporarily dropped him into second place, Pettersson responded with three birdies during the four-hole stretch that followed to finish at 21-under 259 and earn $918,000.
Scott McCarron briefly led midway through the final round before fading into second with a 68. Rich Beem’s second straight 63 left him four strokes off the lead, with J.J. Henry (62) and rookie Martin Laird (63) another shot behind him. Pettersson made his move immediately after slipping out of the lead for the first time since Friday, when his tournament-record 61 in Round 2 shot him up the leaderboard. He began the back nine with consecutive bogeys, falling one stroke back to 19 under when he missed an 8-foot par putt on the 11th. McCarron gave the stroke back on the 12th, missing a 13-foot birdie putt and lipping out a 4-foot par attempt during just his second bogey.Pettersson birdied the 13th for a one-stroke lead, then went back up by two shots with a birdie on the par-5 15th — the easiest hole on the course for everyone but him, after two bogeys and a par on it. This time it was McCarron’s turn for trouble; he sent his second shot into the sand, recovered and lipped out an 8-foot birdie putt.
