Webb gains 30th career victory

Karrie Webb won for the first time this year, playing a bogey-free final round for a five-shot victory Sunday at the Kellogg-Keebler Classic.

The Australian had a two-stroke lead to begin the last round and never faltered, making five birdies in a 67 to finish 16-under 200 and hold off Annika Sorenstam and two others.

It was Webb's 30th victory on the LPGA Tour, but just her second in the last two years. The 29-year-old who once dominated the tour dropped to 11th on the money list last year -- the first time in her career she failed to finish in the top five.

This looked like the Webb of old. She charged to the lead with a second-round 66 and never let up in the 54-hole event, running away from Sorenstam, Siew-Ai Lim and Jeong Jang.

"I got my putter going good, which felt great," said Webb, who made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole. "I didn't make too many mistakes."

Webb got going with consecutive birdies on the front nine and opened up a four-shot lead over Jang with nine holes to play. On the par-4 sixth, Webb pulled her drive into thick rough but hit a great approach onto the green and made a 20-foot putt for birdie.

The few times Webb found trouble, she was able to escape it without dropping a shot. On the par-4 16th, Webb hit her approach in the sand but came out to 15 feet and saved par.

Webb, a six-time major champion who won Player of the Year awards in 1999 and 2000, earned $180,000 with the victory. It was her first since the John Q. Hammons Hotels Classic last year.

Webb began the day with a two-shot lead over Jill McGill and Seol-An Jeon. Neither posed much of a challenge.

McGill fell apart early, three-putting on No. 1, a par-5, for a bogey and hitting her driver in the lake on 5 for a double-bogey. McGill, who had two eagles in the second round to get in contention, had a final-round 3-over 75 and is still searching for her first win after nine years on tour.

Jeon, a 22-year-old rookie from South Korea, had two bogeys on the front nine and never rallied to finish the round 1-over.

Sorenstam couldn't make an early run either after opening the day four shots behind Webb. She parred the front nine, birdied the par-4 10th but was six strokes back at that point.

"It was just one of those days where I started out with nine solid pars," Sorenstam said.

Always a crowd favorite, Sorenstam was still one of the biggest attractions of the final round. She ran away with the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic, winning by 11 strokes. She won by three shots last year.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page