Miyazato accomplishes rare LPGA feat
Ai Miyazato won the HSBC Champions on Sunday to become the first LPGA Tour player in 44 years to sweep the first two events of a season, closing with 3-under 69 for a 2-stroke victory over Cristie Kerr.
Miyazato, the 24-year-old Japanese star who won the LPGA Thailand last week, took the lead with a birdie on the par-4 16th - a hole she played in 5 under for the week - and parred the final two holes to finish at 10 under on Tanah Merah's Garden Course.
A 15-time winner on the Japanese tour, Miyazato earned $195,000 for her third career LPGA Tour victory - all outside North America. She won the Evian Masters last year in France for her first LPGA Tour title.
"This is obviously a great start for me," Miyazato said. "I try to stay in the present in what I do and that's really helping my game at the moment."
Marilynn Smith was last player to win the first two events in a season, accomplishing the feat in 1966. Babe Zaharias (1951), Louise Suggs (1952) and Mickey Wright (1963) also swept season-opening events.
Miyazato admitted she doubted herself before winning the Evian Masters.
"Very much so," she said. "I did have doubts about myself before the Evian. And because this tour is at such a high level, you know, I did lose my confidence. But many people have supported me thus far, and I just want to thank them right now for what they have done for me."
Kerr birdied No. 16 to take the lead at 10 under but bogeyed the final two holes for a 68. Jiyai Shin, the winner last year, closed with a 67 to tie for third at 7 under with Suzann Pettersen (69), Song-Hee Kim (67) and Yani Tseng (69).
Kerr's drive on the 17th sailed into the trees and left her battling insects.
"I was standing in fire ants," Kerr said. "I was playing great, but it was a disappointing finish."
Juli Inkster, the 49-year-old Hall of Famer who began the round tied with Miyazato for the lead, shot a 74 to tie for ninth at 5 under. Michelle Wie had a 70 to tie for 15th at 4 under.
Phoenix Open: Hunter Mahan won the Phoenix Open for his second PGA Tour title, coming from 4 strokes back to beat Rickie Fowler by a shot in a 1-2 finish for former Oklahoma State players. The 27-year-old Mahan had an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late four-hole span to finish at 16-under 268 at Scottsdale, Ariz. Mahan, whose first victory came at the 2007 Travelers Championship, closed with consecutive bogey-free 6-under 65s. He's the eighth U.S.-born player still in his 20s to win more than one tournament.
Fowler, just 21 and a tour rookie, had a final-round 68 for the second runner-up finish of his young career, both of them in Arizona.
In his second PGA tour event last Oct. 25, Fowler lost in a three-way playoff to Troy Matteson in the Frys.com Open just down the road at the Grayhawk Golf Club.
South Korea's Y.E. Yang also shot a 65 to finish at 14 under, 2 off the pace. The PGA Championship winner led until his tee shot went in the water at No. 17.