Hee-Won Han gains wire to wire victory

After a good night's sleep, South Korea's Hee-Won Han hit the golf course feeling recharged and aggressive.

She opened with two consecutive birdies Monday en route to a 3-under 68 and a wire-to-wire, two-stroke victory in the 54-hole Office Depot Championship.

``This morning, I felt pretty good,'' she said. ``I started birdie-birdie and that was good for me.''

Han earned her fourth career LPGA title and first this year with a 201 total in the tour's first non-playoff Monday finish since 1999.

Han's compatriot, Soo-Yun Kang, finished second with her second consecutive 5-under 66 for a 203 total. Scotland's Catriona Matthew was third at 205 after a 3-under 68.

Although they played in front of a sparse crowd Monday, Han, Kang and the other Koreans were very popular with the heavily Asian fan base in Los Angeles.

``They gave me good support,'' Kang said through her sister, who served as a translator. ``I know some of them, so it was a great help.''

Natalie Gulbis earned her sixth top-10 finish this year, shooting an even-par 71 to share fourth place with Karine Icher of France, who had 73 in the final round.

Han played the final 10 holes under sunny skies Monday after the third round was suspended by darkness Sunday, when she was cold, tired and clinging to a one-shot lead through eight holes after bogeying No. 4.

Han started Monday with birdies on Nos. 9 and 10 to increase her lead. She also birdied the 496-yard 14th, the only par 5 on the back nine.

She flirted with a bogey on the 17th, when her par putt rimmed the back of the cup before falling in, then parred the 18th.

``It's always nervous out there,'' she said about her near-miss on 17.

Two weeks ago, Han missed her second cut of the year at the Oklahoma stop. The tour took a week off, and she went home to San Diego, where her coach tinkered with her swing.

The results were immediate.

She arrived at Donald Trump's lavish oceanfront course and shot a career-low 65 in the opening round. Han kept a share of the lead with a second-round 68, and had just three bogeys in the tournament. Han, who has eight top-10 finishes this year, earned $195,000 from the $1.3 million purse.

``I hit the fairways and the greens, and I kept thinking that,'' said Han, the 2001 LPGA rookie of the year.

Kang sprayed a celebratory bottle of champagne on Han, who dashed away before getting soaked. The Seoul natives have known each other for 10 years.

``We are all very close friends,'' Kang said. ``Last time when I won, they did that to me.''

All 79 players who made the cut returned Monday to finish the event, being played for the first time at Trump National. Exceedingly slow play the first three days and a 3 1/2 -hour delay because of dense fog Saturday plagued the tournament. The players also were cut off by darkness Saturday.

British Open champion Jeong Jang, playing in the final threesome with Han, finished six strokes back after a 3-over 74. Two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam never challenged, completing a 1-under 70 for a 209 total.

``I finished with a birdie on 18, so I think I'll leave this place with a smile,'' she said. ``This was the first time I played in the morning. The greens were in great shape. It's too bad I only had four holes (left).''

Rookie Paula Creamer shot her second straight 72 for 212. She was disqualified, however, for improperly changing clubs during the round. She removed a 5-iron from her bag Monday and replaced it with a 3-wood.

Creamer realized her mistake after she finished and called tournament officials. She had to give up prize money of $11,859.

Han leads as play heads into Monday

For the second straight day, the sun sank into the Pacific Ocean without fans seeing a round completed in the Office Depot Championship.

South Korea's Hee-Won Han had a one-stroke lead with 10 holes to play when the final round was suspended because of darkness Sunday.

``It was cold out there. I'm tired,'' Han said. ``I'm better off playing tomorrow.''

The 54-hole LPGA Tour event on Donald Trump's lavish new oceanfront course will conclude Monday.

``This is one of those weeks where you have to be really, really patient,'' said Natalie Gulbis, who trailed Han by two shots.

Exceedingly slow play the first three days and a 3 1/2 -hour delay because of dense fog Saturday have plagued the tournament in its first year at Trump National. The players also were cut off by darkness Saturday.

None of the 79 players who made the cut completed the third round. Fans started leaving before the leaders even teed off.

Han was 9 under through eight holes when play was called. She had a career-best 65 for a share of the lead Friday and added a 68 Saturday.

``The key is hitting fairways,'' Han said. ``My plan is to do the same thing I've been doing, to play aggressive and enjoy myself.''

Scotland's Catriona Matthew and France's Karine Icher were tied for second at 8 under. Matthew had completed 11 holes and was 3 under for the round after birdies on Nos. 1, 3 and 11, while Icher was 1 over through eight.

Gulbis, British Open champion Jeong Jang and South Korean compatriots Young Jo and Soo-Yun Kang were 7 under.

Jang parred her first seven holes before four-putting the par-3 eighth for a double bogey.

``My short putting is not really good. I'm hoping to be better tomorrow,'' she said.

Two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam was five shots back, going 1 under through 14 holes.

``It was another long day,'' she said. ``I hit a lot of good shots and putted well, but it's a tricky golf course.''

Sunday began with 72 players finishing the second round after being stranded by darkness Saturday after the fog delay. That caused a backlog throughout Sunday's play.

Gulbis has yet to win a title in three years as a pro. The 22-year-old California native finished up the second round Sunday with a 69 after an opening 66 Friday.

``It's been a long day,'' she said. ``I got here at 6 a.m., played 10 holes (of the second round), then had four hours before playing again. I don't think I've played a full 18 yet.''

Gulbis spent the downtime watching football and baseball with her family at a restaurant.

``We deal with this stuff all the time. On the East Coast, we have tons and tons of weather delays due to thunder and lightning,'' she said. ``It's unfortunate for the fans.''

Icher finished off a second-round 68 earlier Sunday after waking up early to make her 7:45 a.m. tee time.

Rookie Paula Creamer was even through 16 holes, along with U.S. Open champion Birdie Kim, who had played 14 holes.

Hee-Won Han, $195,000          65-68-68-201
Soo-Yun Kang, $117,634         71-66-66-203
Catriona Matthew, $85,335      69-68-68-205
Natalie Gulbis, $59,574        66-69-71-206
Karine Icher, $59,574          65-68-73-206
Katherine Hull, $39,931        68-70-69-207
Jeong Jang, $39,931            67-66-74-207
Marisa Baena, $31,880          68-69-71-208
Kim Saiki, $25,359             69-71-69-209
Annika Sorenstam, $25,359      69-70-70-209
Young Jo, $25,359              71-67-71-209
Mi Hyun Kim, $25,359           67-69-73-209
Shi  Hyun Ahn, $19,322         71-68-71-210
Rosie Jones, $19,322           68-70-72-210
Beth Daniel, $19,322           69-68-73-210
Michele Redman, $19,322        68-68-74-210
Moira Dunn, $15,156            71-71-69-211
Il Mi Chung, $15,156           70-72-69-211
Nadina Taylor, $15,156         69-73-69-211
Liselotte Neumann, $15,156     72-66-73-211
Jamie Hullett, $15,156         68-69-74-211
Nicole Perrot, $15,156         65-72-74-211
A.J. Eathorne, $11,859         69-76-67-212
Aree Song, $11,859             71-72-69-212
Meena Lee, $11,859             71-71-70-212
Stephanie Louden, $11,859      69-73-70-212
Paula Creamer, $11,859         68-72-72-212
Eva Dahllof, $11,859           68-69-75-212
Wendy Ward, $11,859            65-72-75-212
Lorena Ochoa, $8,980           68-75-70-213
Michelle Estill, $8,980        69-72-72-213
Hana Kim, $8,980               71-68-74-213
Juli Inkster, $8,980           70-68-75-213
Gloria Park, $8,980            66-71-76-213
Tina Barrett, $8,980           70-66-77-213
Jennifer Rosales, $8,980       66-70-77-213
Karen Stupples, $6,235         68-76-70-214
Kim Williams, $6,235           72-71-71-214
Siew-Ai Lim, $6,235            71-71-72-214
Celeste Troche, $6,235         70-72-72-214
Sherri Steinhauer, $6,235      71-70-73-214
Joellyn Erdmann-Crooks, $6,235 70-71-73-214
Joanne Mills, $6,235           69-72-73-214
Birdie Kim, $6,235             72-68-74-214
Marcy Hart, $6,235             67-71-76-214
Maria Hjorth, $6,235           68-69-77-214
Heather Bowie, $6,235          67-70-77-214
Grace Park, $4,547             74-70-71-215
Ji Yeon Lee, $4,547            72-71-72-215
Carin Koch, $4,547             71-72-72-215
Allison Hanna, $4,547          71-72-72-215
Katie Allison, $4,547          68-72-75-215
Jimin Kang, $3,929             68-77-71-216
Christina Kim, $3,929          74-68-74-216
Sarah Lee, $3,929              68-74-74-216
Pat Hurst, $3,929              72-68-76-216
Miriam Nagl, $3,362            69-76-72-217
Stephanie Arricau, $3,362      73-71-73-217
Emily Bastel, $3,362           72-71-74-217
Becky Morgan, $3,362           72-69-76-217
Candie Kung, $3,362            70-71-76-217
Mhairi McKay, $3,092           72-73-73-218
Lee Ann Walker-Cooper, $2,962  74-71-74-219
Brandie Burton, $2,962         71-73-75-219
Kristen Samp, $2,962           72-68-79-219
Suzann Pettersen, $2,705       75-70-75-220
Diana D'Alessio, $2,705        75-70-75-220
Hilary Lunke, $2,705           70-74-76-220
Erica Blasberg, $2,705         75-68-77-220
Riko Higashio, $2,705          74-69-77-220
Heather Daly-Donofrio, $2,511  74-71-76-221
Jenna Daniels, $2,511          67-78-76-221
Sung Ah Yim, $2,511            71-73-77-221
Amy Hung, $2,415               76-69-77-222
Janice Moodie, $2,415          73-72-77-222
Sherri Turner, $2,415          74-70-78-222
Marilyn Lovander, $2,355       74-70-79-223
Karen Weiss, $2,325            73-72-79-224
Wendy Doolan, $2,295           68-77-80-225
    

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