Ochoa blitzes them at Safeway
IN: News | LPGA | Safeway International (2008) | Round Four | by Bruce Young | 31 Mar 2008
The simply brilliant Lorena Ochoa successfully defended her Safeway International title today when she again demolished an LPGA field, this time by seven shots.
After an 11 shot victory against the game’s best in Singapore a month ago, Ochoa broke away from those who had dared to challenge her earlier in the tournament when she turned in 34 to be three ahead as she headed for home at the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club and she closed the door completely with a mistake free back nine of four under 32 to finish at 22 under and seven ahead of Jee Young Lee.
For Ochoa this is her 13th win in her last 32 USLPGA Tour starts and coupled with six runner-up finishes in that time further highlights her amazing domination of the game. She enters next week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship as the raging hot favourite despite not having won the event previously and that she has won only one major amongst her 19 LPGA Tour titles.
Jee Young Lee is one of the LPGA Tour longest hitters and although she has won just the one event in 2005 as a then non-member there have been several runner-up placings for the Korean. She is destined to win again before long it would seem.
Finland’s Minea Blomqvist put together a final round of 67 to move from 8th to third. Playing on only limited status on the LPGA Tour, the 22 year old followed up a very good 5th place at the HSBC Champions event with a cheque for US$98,000 – her largest in the game.
The best of the Australians was again Lindsey Wright who recovered from a slow start today to finish in a share of 9th. Wright is rapidly becoming Australia’s best player currently on the LPGA Tour, her recent third place finish at the Fields Open and now this week’s effort adding substance to that claim.
Sarah Kemp, playing in just her third event as an LPGA Tour cardholder finished 15th after a final round of 72, further confirming her promise. Wendy Doolan was 29th while Karrie Webb, Rachel Hetherington and Katherine Hull missed the cut.
The LPGA Tour now heads west to Rancho Mirage in California for this week’s Kraft Nabisco Championship.
