Sorenstam holds on to win

Annika Sorenstam held on to win despite letting a four shot lead slip away. Allsport

Annika Sorenstam just wasn't herself - until the tournament was on the line.

Sorenstam saw a four-shot lead fade in the rain and Rachel Hetherington caught her with birdies on the last two holes of regulation.

But her 11-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff in the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic gave the Swedish star her fourth victory of the year on the LPGA Tour and the 22nd of her career.

``Today was a different me. I don't know what it was,'' Sorenstam said Sunday after collecting the $150,000 first-place check. ``I feel relieved and thrilled to hit that putt, despite the golf I played today. That just shows you have to be patient and just keep grinding.''

Hetherington's birdies at 17 and 18 pulled her even with Sorenstam at 10-under 274. She forced the playoff by hitting a sand wedge to 6 feet at the final hole, prompting the crowd to go wild.

``I really felt like I had a chance all day,'' the three-time LPGA winner said. ``When you have two par-5s to finish with, you never know.''

Sorenstam almost gave the tournament away on the finishing hole, hitting her drive into a fairway bunker and then barely advancing the ball with a 7-wood. After two shots, she still had yet to get to where Hetherington's drive was.

Lying three and 85 yards short of the green, she saved the day - and par - by hitting her sand wedge within 2 inches.

``They were going nuts up on the green. I didn't know if there was any room for me up there,'' Sorenstam said with a smile. ``It's my favorite shot. I've hit it a million times. It felt pure when I hit it, but you never know.''

After playing together all day, they returned to the 18th tee for the first hole of the playoff. Hetherington missed a 20-foot birdie putt, then had to make a slick 5-footer coming back to save par. Sorenstam just missed her birdie putt from 10 feet.

Both drove into ideal position in the fairway on No. 1, a par-4. However, Hetherington's 6-iron approach to the front of the green spun back, leaving her 20 feet short of the green and 60 feet from the hole.

``I hit a good shot,'' she said. ``It just hit the front bank and spun back.''

After she chipped 6 feet past the hole, Sorenstam - who hit her 6-iron just below pin high - coolly rolled in her putt.

``I had good rest last night. I slept well. But when I got out on the range, I just couldn't get comfortable,'' Sorenstam said of her uncharacteristic lapses. ``I don't know if I was thinking about the weather or thinking about my lead. I just had a lot going on in my head.''

It was the 25th time Sorenstam has led an LPGA event heading into the final round and she won for the 16th time, including three of the four this season.

It was the fourth playoff in the tournament's 16 years, including last year's LPGA record six-way playoff, won by Se Ri Pak.

Seeking to become only the seventh player to ever win the same LPGA tournament three consecutive years, Pak climbed the leaderboard in the final round and tied Sorenstam. Down five shots at the start, she pulled even with a birdie at the 13th hole.

``I know I can beat great players,'' Pak said after closing out a 4-under 67 to finish third alone at 275. ``I am learning about myself and my golf game.''

Pak hovered at or near the lead most of the day, but her three-putt bogey at 16 gave Sorenstam the lead again - until Hetherington's fast finish. Pak had a 6-footer for birdie on the last hole to tie Sorenstam again but it just skimmed off the lip.

Hall of Famer Beth Daniel had a 69 and was at 276, while Heather Bowie, Jane Crafter and Jeong Jang were another shot back.

Sorenstam started the day at 10 under. But she came up short with a 5-iron on the very first hole and missed a 10-footer - resulting in her first bogey in 41 holes.

Her lead was cut in half by the time lightning and rain caused a suspension of play, just after she parred No. 2. Pak's two early birdies and one by Daniel on No. 2 pulled them within two shots.

She still wasn't out of the woods - literally.

After a 44-minute suspension of play due to lightning, Sorenstam's next shot - her drive on the dogleg par-4 4th - clipped a tree and her ball ricocheted into the rough short of the fairway. From there she hooked a wood into a trap 50 yards short of the green, and then blasted out to 9 feet.

Avoiding another misstep, she canned the par putt - pumping her fist for emphasis as the ball fell in the cup.

``I made a great save for par on that hole,'' she said.

She followed that with birdies on three of the next four holes - hitting putts of 7, 22 and 14 feet - to build a three-shot lead over Pak.

But Sorenstam encountered trouble again at No. 9, finding a trap off the tee and then watching as her line-drive 5-iron skipped off the right side of the green and rolled all the way down a big hill.

Just as she readied to hit her approach to the green, however, play was suspended again. She marked her ball and hurried to the clubhouse before black clouds dumped rain on the course. Play was halted for 1 hour and 50 minutes.

When the players returned, Sorenstam chipped to 3 feet but missed the par putt and Pak was only two back. Another bogey by Sorenstam at the 12th, in conjunction with Pak's birdie at 13, pulled them even.

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