Carin Koch coasts to six shot victory

Carin Koch already looked to have the Corona Morelia Championship wrapped up after a birdie on the 15th. Wendy Ward's nightmare on the next hole erased any doubt.

Koch shot a 1-under 71 to win by six strokes Sunday, coasting to victory after Ward three-putted for a triple-bogey on the 16th.

Koch took control with a birdie on the par-4 15th, overcoming a hook off the tee with a stellar 6-iron shot from the rough that rolled within 15 feet. She holed the putt for a birdie, then watched third-round co-leader Ward shoot an 8 to fall out of contention.

The 34-year-old Koch, whose only other LPGA Tour victory came at the Corning Classic in 2001, finished at 9-under 279.

"I was tense and just trying to feel comfortable and calm and play my game, and I think I did,'' Koch said. "I tried not to pay too much attention to what everyone else was doing. I really tried to stick to my game and do what I do.''

Ward kept the pressure on by saving a difficult par on the 11th to stay tied for the lead, but her double-bogey on the 12th put Koch ahead for good. Four holes later, Ward hit a hazard, then three-putted to fall six strokes back. She finished with a 6-over 78 and tied for third with Catriona Matthew at 2-under 286.

"She had that bad shot on 12, and it was just when she had kind of come back and had a couple of good holes,'' Koch said. "You just can't get in trouble here. You have to stay in play.''

France's Karine Icher took advantage of Ward's struggles, using a strong short game to birdie two of the final three holes and move into second. She shot a 2-under 70 and finished at 3-under 285.

"The beginning was difficult and then it was easier for me,'' Icher said. "Everything can happen on this course. You can make a good shot, a very good shot, and be in the water.''

Koch led after the second round before Ward caught her after 54 holes. The Swede took back the lead on the par-3 third, draining a 10-foot birdie up a steep grain. After a bogey on the fourth, she hit consecutive birdies for a two-stroke lead. She rolled in a 15-foot putt on the sixth, then followed with a wedge to within 3 feet on the seventh.

But Koch couldn't hold the lead. She bogeyed the 10th and put her approach over the green on 11th for another bogey that knocked her back into a tie at 8-under.

The 31-year-old Ward, who earned her first tour win in nearly four years at the Takefuji Classic last week in Las Vegas, briefly got to 9-under with a birdie on the par-3 sixth, but fell back to 8-under with a bogey on the eighth. That's where she was when her real problems began on the 12th and 16th.

After a bogey on 17, Koch ended the tournament at Morelia's Tres Marias Golf Club with a birdie on the treacherous par-5 18th -- where players shot 10, 11, even a 12 on Sunday. She capped the victory with an 18-foot putt.

"I'm so excited,'' Koch said. "You get your first win and that's great, but it's just so nice to know you can do it again.''

Dorothy Delasin and Soo Young Moon each shot 70s to tie for fifth with Natalie Gulbis, who shot a 2-over 74.

Lorena Ochoa, who won twice last year to become the LPGA Tour's first Mexican-born champion, was not a factor in the second tournament played in her homeland this year. She shot a 1-over 73 to finish tied for 16th at 5-over 293.

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