Times wires
Sunday, June 5, 2011
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Brittany Lincicome of Seminole made a 4-foot birdie on the final hole Sunday to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic for her fourth title and first in two years.
Lincicome's birdie capped a bogey-free 5-under 66 that gave her a one-shot victory over third-ranked Jiyai Shin (65) and No. 4 Cristie Kerr (69), the second-round leader.
It was the long-hitting Lincicome's first win since the 2009 Kraft Nabisco, her lone major.
"Everything kind of fell my way," Lincicome said. "It was clearly my week."
Lincicome, 25, finished the 54-hole tournament on the Bay Course at Seaview at 11-under 202, and the difference was the par 5s. She played nine par 5s in the tournament and had seven birdies, an eagle and a par, with the last birdie coming on the 501-yard 18th.
After a perfect drive, Lincicome choked down on a 3-wood but hit it long, into some fescue about hole-high.
But she deftly hit a lob wedge close and made the putt, after nearly backing off it because her hands were "shaking so much."
"I could have hit a bucket of balls and not gotten it that close," Lincicome said of the chip.
Tampa's Cindy LaCrosse (68) tied for 11th at 208.
Memorial: Stricker hangs on for victory
DUBLIN, Ohio — Steve Stricker finally found the winning formula at the Memorial.
Stricker, never in the top 10 in 11 previous trips to Muirfield Village, built a big lead on the front nine, then relied on his silky putting for two clutch pars to hang on for a one-shot victory.
He closed with 4-under 68, lagging from 20 feet for a two-putt bogey on No. 18. He twice saved par from bunkers on the 16th and 17th holes, making putts of 15 feet and 7 feet.
"It wasn't pretty," Stricker said to tournament host Jack Nicklaus walking off the 18th green.
Stricker, 44, who finished at 16-under 272, moves to No. 4 in the world and becomes the top-ranked American for the first time today. Matt Kuchar and Brandt Jobe each closed with 65 to tie for second at 273.
CHAMPIONS: Bob Gilder, 60, earned his first 50-and-over tour victory since 2006, sinking a 30-foot birdie on No. 18 at the Principal Charity Classic and winning by a shot when Mark Brooks bogeyed the hole in West Des Moines, Iowa. Gilder closed with 6-under 65 for a three-round total of 199. Part-time Dunedin resident Rod Spittle (65) tied for third at 201.