Kerr wins after marathon playoff

Wind, cold, a bit of rain and a long playoff turned the tournament into a "matter of survival" for Cristie Kerr.

After squandering a four-shot lead on the final six holes of regulation, Kerr finally beat rookie Seol-An Jeon on the seventh playoff hole Saturday to win the Takefuji Classic.

Along the way, she and Jeon had to deal with swirling wind, a brief rain shower, and an early evening chill.

Jeon, very steady under the pressure of going head-to-head against an accomplished tour player, was Kerr's biggest challenge.

"With the exception of the last playoff hole, I think she played better than me," said Kerr, winning for the second time since joining the Tour in 1997.

"We were kind of in a match play situation. The Solheim Cup has really kind of given me a lot of experience, I would say a little bit of an edge."

Christie Kerr captured her second LPGA title after a seven-hole playoff. (AP)
Kerr rolled in a 3-foot par putt to end it after Jeon hit into trouble on the par-4, 412-yard 16th.

"In this particular playoff, it was getting a lot colder and it was getting windier. I think it was just a matter of survival," Kerr said.

Jeon didn't realize there was going to be a playoff: she thought Kerr won on the final hole of regulation and she had finished second.

"At that time, I was OK that I finished second," Jeon said. "Then he (her caddie) told me, 'Now playoff.'

"Wow! I mean I had a lot of fun out there. I learned a lot from Cristie. I saw her on TV, and I played with her, that's the really exciting thing. So I'm happy."

Kerr bogeyed four of the last six holes of regulation, including missing a short par putt that would have won it on No. 18.

She closed with a 1-over 73 to match Jeon (69) at 7-under 209 in the 54-hole event.

Kerr and Jeon matched pars for the first six extra holes. Jeon finally made the first critical mistake when she hit her second shot on No. 16 far over the green.

Her next shot struck a tree limb and dropped short of the green, and she next chipped 35 feet below the hole. Kerr was on the fringe with her second shot and two-putted for the title.

After Jeon just missed an 18-foot birdie putt on the sixth extra hole, Kerr could have won it with a 14-footer. But she left the putt about 3 inches short.

Jeon put the pressure on when she made a 15-footer for par on the fourth playoff hole, the par-3, 174-yard 17th hole, but Kerr then knocked in her 6-footer for par to keep the playoff going.

Gloria Park (67) finished third at 6 under, and Mi-Hyun Kim (70) was another shot back. Heather Daly-Donofrio (72) finished fifth at 4 under.

Kerr needed to make a 3-footer for par on No. 18 to win in regulation, but her putt rimmed the cup and left her 2 feet from the hole. She pulled that putt slightly, but it caught the rim and dropped in for a bogey.

In-Bee Park, an amateur who was in the event on a sponsor's exemption, closed with a 71 to tie for eighth at 2 under. Candie Kung, the 2003 winner, was never in serious contention after opening with a 75 and finished far back at 6-over 222.

The LPGA Tour record for a playoff is 10 holes, set in 1972 when Jo Ann Prentice beat Sandra Palmer and Kathy Whitworth in the Corpus Christi Civitan in Texas.

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