Karen Stupples claims title with closing 64

Karen Stupples won the British Women's Open by five strokes on Sunday and became only the third Englishwoman to claim a major golf championship after a stunning final round of 64.

With a 19-under par total, she equalled the championship record set by Australian Karrie Webb over the same course in 1997 as she held off the challenge of joint overnight leader Rachel Teske of Australia who had a closing 70.

The 31-year-old Stupples opened the round in remarkable fashion with an eagle followed by an albatross before a run of three straight birdies from the 15th finally put her clear.

American Heather Bowie was third on 13 under after a 71, with Mexico's Lorena Ochoa fourth on 12 under after a 70.

Stupples, whose first win in five years as a professional was in the LPGA Tour season opener in Tucson, Arizona, is the first Englishwoman to win the title since Penny Grice-Whittaker in 1991. The tournament gained major status three years ago.

Stupples' amazing start -- she holed a 15-foot putt for the eagle three at the 485-yard first and then sank a five iron from 205-yards for the albatross two at the 475-yard second -- set the tone for a thrilling afternoon showdown.

But it took three birdies in a row from the 15th for Stupples to finally shake off the bunch of challengers and join Laura Davies, who has won four, and Alison Nicholas, the 1997 U.S. Women's Open Champion, as English winners of a major.

"It's absolutely mind-blowing," said Stupples, who equalled the lowest score for a women's major set by Dottie Pepper at the 1999 Kraft Nabisco Championship.

"This is the championship that I grew up wanting to win and it feels absolutely unbelievable.

"I knew I needed a good start but would have been quite happy with a couple of birdies. But when I holed out at the second I knew I could enjoy the day, no matter what happened."

Stupples, from Deal in Kent, launched her career on the US-based LPGA Tour in 1999 but had to wait until March for her first win in the Welch's/Fry's Championship in Tucson.

"It shows that if you have a dream and follow it then great things can happen," she said. "To walk up the 18th knowing I was going to win the British Open was the most unbelievable feeling."

Minea Blomqvist, the 19-year-old Finn who shot a record 62 in the third round, again showed her huge potential with a 70 and tied for eighth on 10 under.

World No. 1 Annika Sorenstam ended her defence of the championship with a rather disappointing 71 and had to settle for a share of 13th place.

"Of course, I'm disappointed but I gave it my all," said the player who set out to win all four majors but had to settle for a successful defence of the LPGA Championship in June.

"But this week shows that you've got to shoot a lot under par to win and that's a great credit to women's golf.

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