Mallon clinches title with closing 67

Meg Mallon is haunted by the sky's-the-limit reputation she earned in 1991 when she won four golf tournaments, including two majors.

Even after winning the Rochester International today - her 12th victory in 14 years on the LPGA tour - the 37-year-old Mallon was thinking back to that halcyon year and wondering if she could ever match it again.

``It's almost like the expectations got so high that no matter what I've done since then, it seems to pale in comparison,'' she said.

``So it's a good thing, bad thing, where I'm playing really well but I also feel ... I'd like to win more. I feel like I need to do so much more to get myself in that upper echelon of players.''

Coming off four top-10 finishes since March, Mallon shot a 5-under-par 67 Sunday to vault ahead of Dale Eggeling and beat hard-charging Wendy Doolan by two strokes.

``I'm glad we had that squeegee,'' Mallon said with a grin after battling through torrential rain to end with an 8-under 280 total.

Doolan, a second-round co-leader who crashed with a 77 Saturday, bounced back to six under with a closing 66 to match the day's best score. The Australian had three straight birdies after the turn, then pitched in for an eagle from 118 yards on No. 13.

Eggeling, aiming to become the second-oldest winner on tour at 46, shot a 73 to fade to four under, one ahead of Rosie Jones (69), who won here in 1991 and '98. Cristie Kerr had a 66 and finished at two under, tied with Cindy Figg-Currier (71).

Rain interrupted play for almost an hour in the morning and the leaden skies periodically let loose a downpour, leaving puddles on the greens and fairways of the already soggy Locust Hill course. A thunderstorm rolled in as Mallon made her triumphant way up the 18th hole.

Mallon quickly negated Eggeling's two-stroke lead with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3. Eggeling went ahead again on No. 4 but Mallon tied it after leaving her tee shot six feet away on the par-3 9th.

She grabbed the lead from Eggeling for the first time on No. 11, landing a wedge shot three feet away, then ran away from Doolan with 3-foot and 6-foot putts for birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.

First prize in the $1 million tournament was worth $150,000, solidifying Mallon in 11th place on the career money list with $4.68 million.

A native of Natick, Mass., Mallon burst to prominence in 1991 by winning the U.S. Women's Open and LPGA Championship. But last year was her most lucrative on tour, earning $679,929 from two victories and eight other top-10 finishes.

Mallon started with a 74 Thursday, then bounced into second place with a 68. Her even-par round in swirling wind Saturday left her two strokes behind Eggeling, a 25-year LPGA veteran.

It was Doolan's best finish in four years on tour, and her fourth time in the top 10 this spring.

``Everything seems to be getting better for me - it's a nice reward for hard work,'' she said.

Defending champion Karrie Webb, who has 10 victories in 17 months, shot a 70 and finished at two over to tie for 13th. It was her only time outside the top six this year.

South Korean rookie Jeong Jang, an opening-round co-leader who turned 20 on Sunday, shot a 73 and finished at one over.

The 24-year-old tournament's main sponsor is Wegmans, a regional grocery store chain that hiked the purse from $700,000 in 1998 to lure marquee players like Webb.

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