Lee Seon-hwa birdied the final hole for four-under 68 and a one-stroke victory over Jane Park and Meena Lee on Sunday in the US LPGA Tour's NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers.
Meena Lee (70) had a chance to tie on 18, but missed a 15-foot birdie putt.
Park shot a 62 and was tied for the lead when she walked off the 18th green. Because the other contenders were just making the turn, Park didn't expect her score to hold up. She ended up keeping the clubhouse lead until Lee Seon-hwa's birdie, which finished the South Korean with 15-under 201 total.
Meena Lee (70) led by a stroke before coming up short of the green on the par-three 17th. Her chip was long, and she missed from about 10 feet for a bogey.
Lee Seon-hwa, playing in the group just ahead, hit her approach on No. 18 within three feet, setting up a birdie that she thought would put her in a playoff. "I didn't know she made bogey on 17," she said.
Kristy McPherson (70) finished in a four-way tie for fourth at 13-under. Karen Stupples (66), Ai Miyazato (68) and Angela Park (70) finished even with McPherson. US Women's Open champion Inbee Park (70) finished at 11-under.
In Bethesda, Maryland, Anthony Kim overcame a three-stroke deficit with a final round 5-under 65 on Sunday, winning the AT&T national by two shots to confirm his status as a rising talent on the US golf tour.
The 23-year-old Kim emerged from the pack with consecutive birdies around the turn at Congressional and held off Fredrik Jacobson.
He became the first American under 25 to win twice in one year on the US PGA Tour since Tiger Woods.
Kim, who won earlier this year at the Wachovia Championship, finished at 12-under 268 and earned US$1.08 million, moving him to No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings and closer to the top 10 in the world ranking.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily July 8, 2008)
