Alfredsson heads packed leaderboard at end of Longs Drugs

BY Bruce Young | LPGA Tour | 2003 Longs Drugs Challenge | Wrap | 06 Oct 2003

Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson today won her fifth event on the USLPGA Tour but her first since 1998, when she held on in a tight finish to the Long Drugs Challenge in California. Five other players finished within a shot of the lead.

Alfredsson was able to position herself with three early birdies on the back nine, then hold on as those around her fell away. The most notable of the fallen was Pat Hurst who had the tournament in safe keeping until a double bogey at the last saw her fall from the lead and allow Alfredsson the title. Also sharing second with Hurst were Rachel Teske, Grace Park, Se Ri Pak and Jung Yeon Lee.

Alfredsson’s last win before today came at the lucrative WPGA Championship on the European Ladies Tour in 2001 but the last two years have seen the 38-year-old struggling with her game. Seventeen starts on the LPGA this year have yielded not one top ten and just $US77,000 until this week’s $US150,000 solved that problem. The story on the other side of the Atlantic had not been any better, with no top tens on The Ladies European Tour this season.

Despite her recent lack of form, it has been a fine career to date. In addition to the five wins in the US and her ten Ladies European Tour wins, Alfredsson has also won events in Japan and Australia and of course she has been a great Solheim Cup star, playing in seven of the eight stagings of the event.

Rachel Teske was the leading Australian earning $56,000 for her equal 2nd placing and moving to within $US3,000 of Karrie Webb’s $US703,766 on the money list. Webb was 7th after getting within one shot of the lead, Michelle Ellis was 19th, Joanne Mills 26th, Jane Crafter 53rd, with Fiona Pike, Mardi Lunn and Shani Waugh 75th.

The LPGA now moves to Houston for the restricted field World Golf Championship event.