Scranton beats Hjorth in playoff

Nancy Scranton received the LPGA Tour's Heather Farr Award last year for her dedication and perseverance. She added an exclamation mark today.

Scranton won her first LPGA Tour title since 1992, parring the second hole of a playoff with Sweden's Maria Hjorth in the Subaru Memorial of Naples.

"It was very, very satisfying," Scranton said. "Basically, I've done it. I've gotten back to where I felt like I could play. It was just so satisfying to have worked hard and got the rewards for working hard."

Scranton, 38, who had reconstructive shoulder surgery in 1996, closed with a 2-under-par 70 to match Hjorth at 13-under 275 on The Club at The Strand. Hjorth, 26, shot a 64.

On the second playoff hole, the par-4 10th, Hjorth left her approach shot right of the pin, just off the green, while Scranton knocked her approach within 15 feet.

"I was just trying to hit it close," Scranton said.

Hjorth had a 6-footer for par, but the ball broke right across the hole at the end, leaving Scranton to tap in a 1-foot par putt for the victory.

"If I would've hit it a little bit firmer it would have gone in," Hjorth said.

Both players birdied the first extra hole, the 18th, with Hjorth making a 7-foot putt, and Scranton following with a 4-footer to extend the playoff.

Scranton earned $127,500 for her third tour title. She also won the 1991 du Maurier Classic and the 1992 Los Coyotes LPGA Classic. Hjorth, a two-time winner last season, earned $79,129.

Scranton rallied to tie for the lead with a birdie on No. 11 and an eagle on No. 12 - back-to-back par-5s - then took the lead with a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 16. But she left her approach shot short of the green on No. 18 and missed an 8-foot par putt.

"I thought it was going to be a little more of a shootout," Scranton said.

Juli Inkster (67), Dale Eggeling (69), defending champion Meg Mallon (69), Tina Barrett (70), and Sweden's Catrin Nilsmark tied for third at 276. Nilsmark missed a 15-foot par putt on No. 18.

Third-round leader Jen Hanna three-putted the par-3 17th for a bogey to end her chances of becoming the first rookie to win her first event as an LPGA Tour member since 1951. She shot a 74 to tie for eighth at 277.

Australia's Jan Stephenson, 48, won the $500,000 Evista Legends Series, a competition that started in 1999. Stephenson, who won her first professional event in Naples in 1976, earned $125,000, her biggest official paycheck ever. The Legends series is for players age 40 and over.

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