Webb coasts to ten shot win

It was the only time Karrie Webb stunk in four days.

Webb shot a 2-under-par 70 today for a 14-under 274 total to win the Nabisco Championship by 10 shots over defending champion Dottie Pepper, then jumped feet first into the murky water at the 18th green in the traditional winner's celebration.

"I stink right now, but I'm very happy that I do," said Webb, bundled in a thick white robe, with her feet bare and her hair plastered to her head after the trophy presentation.

Pepper instigated the watery conclusion with a friendly shove as Webb approached her for a handshake. Webb's caddie joined her in the lake, and singer Celine Dion waded in to shake hands with both of them.

"If I can advise Karrie on anything, I'd get on some antibiotics right now," said Pepper, who said she had "green something" in her ears a month after her victory plunge.

Pepper shot par-72 for the third straight day to finish at 4-under 284, one shot ahead of Meg Mallon.

Cathy Johnston-Forbes and Michelle Redman tied for fourth at 2-under 286. Helen Dobson and Chris Johnson tied for sixth at 1-under 287.

Aree Wongluekiet (pronounced Wahn-gloo-KEE-it), the 13-year-old Thai amateur sensation, wound up tied for 10th at 1-over 289 after a 75 that included a two-stroke penalty on the 14th hole. She was penalized for playing her ball from the wrong position when it moved one-eighth of an inch after she addressed it on a birdie putt, which she holed. She was looking at the hole and didn't see the ball move. The error was noticed by ABC-TV.

Wongluekiet started well with a birdie on the par-5 second hole from 6 feet to go to 3-under, but she followed up with a bogey at the par-4 No. 6.

"I'm not very disappointed," she said. "I had a lot of fun. I hit the ball better yesterday, but I'm still happy with the results."

"She's an amazing talent," Webb said about Wongluekiet, who played in the final group with Webb and Pepper. "On the first hole, I had the biggest smile on my face when she just ripped it off the tee, straight down the middle, no fear at all."

Aree and her twin sister, Naree, were the second-youngest ever to play in an LPGA tournament. Naree didn't make the cut. They can't play the LPGA Tour full-time until they're 18.

"The tour is lucky that they can't be out here for another five years so we can make some money before both of them are out here," Webb said.

Webb, whose 10 strokes was the largest winning margin in tournament history, won the second major championship of her career. Her first came in the du Maurier Classic last year. The previous-best winning margin was Amy Alcott's eight-stroke win over Pepper in '91.

"It's such a rewarding feeling for all the hard work I've put in," Webb said. "I love to win golf tournaments. I love to be in the situation that I put myself in this weekend. It's just something that I dreamed about doing."

Webb earned $187,500 for her fourth LPGA victory in five tournaments this year, keeping her atop the money list with $611,629. She also won a non-tour event in Australia.

"After I had such a good start to the year, I did wonder if I'd peaked a little too early for this week," she said. "I was hoping that my game would still be in shape and it was. I played tremendously well. Today, I was more excited just to get into the clubhouse and hold up the trophy."

Last year, Pepper ran away from the field, setting a 72-hole record with a 19-under 269 total that beat Mallon by six strokes.

"Paybacks are hell," said Pepper, who was in second place all four days.

This year, it was Webb's turn to dominate.

The Australian led wire-to-wire, the fifth time in her five-year career that she's won after leading all the way. She's finished either first or second in seven consecutive LPGA events, dating to the AFLAC Champions last October. She has four wins and three seconds in those events.

Even though the outcome was all but decided before the final round began, Webb didn't talk to her caddie about winning or jumping in the lake until the 16th hole.

"Once I made the turn and I was still nine shots up, I wasn't playing bad enough to do anything drastic," she said. "Dottie would've had to make four or five birdies in a row and me not answer to any of those to really make me think about it."

But Pepper never made a serious run. She was bothered by back spasms after she slipped on wet grass at the practice range Saturday.

"When she made one at five, there's not much you can do but sit back and admire great golf," Pepper said. "We would've had one heck of a tournament without Karrie Webb."

The highlight of Webb's round came on the par-3 fifth hole, which she aced using a 6-iron from 170 yards. But she nearly missed seeing it.

The ball bounced once on the green and Webb looked down to pull her tee out of the ground.

"I heard (her caddie) Evan say, 'Get in," and I looked up and saw it drop in the hole," said Webb, who jumped in joy. At the green, she plucked the ball out of the hole, kissed it, and tossed it into the cheering crowd.

DIVOTS: Webb earned two points for the win, giving her 25 points toward the 27 required to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. However, she must wait until 2006, when she completes 10 years as an LPGA member to be inducted. Annika Sorenstam is in a similar situation. She earned her 27th point by winning in Tucson, Ariz., on March 12, but has to wait until 2003 for induction. ... Trish Johnson was disqualified after failing to sign her scorecard. Her final round 73 would have put her at 294, a tie for 31st. ... Annika Sorenstam was never a factor all week. She finished at 4-over 292, along with two-time Nabisco champion Juli Inkster. ... Webb has a chance to win as much as $2.5 million as part of the new Nabisco Grand Slam Challenge. If she wins another major championship this season, she'll earn a $250,000 bonus. A third major would be worth $1 million,and a sweep of all four LPGA majors is worth $2.5 million. ... The tour takes a two-week break and resumes April 13 at the Longs Drugs Challenge near Sacramento, Calif.

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