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Yani Tseng successfully
defends her title in Arkansas
AP, ROGERS, ARKANSAS
Taiwan¡¦s Yani Tseng watches a tee
shot during the final round of the Wal-Mart NW Arkansas Championship in Rogers,
Arkansas, on Sunday.
Photo: AFP
Top-ranked Yani Tseng (´¿¶®©g) of Taiwan
successfully defended her title in the LPGA NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday,
beating Amy Yang with a four-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff.
Yang missed a six-foot birdie try, before Tseng holed the winning putt on the
par-five 18th.
¡§I almost cry because today, like in the middle of the round, I felt like: ¡¥Oh,
I¡¦m going to lose today.¡¦ Because in my mind, I don¡¦t feel excitement. I don¡¦t
make any birdie, but I just telling myself: ¡¥I need to get excited, need more
focused, try to stretch, move around, just feel more.¡¦ Like the last three
holes, I make some birdies, so that was very important for me,¡¨ Tseng said.
Tseng and Yang closed with three-under 68s to finish at 12--under 201 on the
Pinnacle Country Club course.
Yang, winless on the LPGA Tour, parred the final 11 holes of regulation, holing
a four-and-half-foot putt on the 18th to force the playoff.
Tseng bogeyed the par-four 13th to drop to 10-under, then rallied with birdies
on the par-five 14th and the par-four 16th ¡X holing an eight-foot putt to tie
Yang.
¡§After the second hole, I was a hole behind and I keep telling myself: ¡¥It¡¦s OK,
we still have lots of holes, stay patient and be always positive and keep
focused on every shot,¡¦¡¨ Tseng said.
On the 18th in regulation, Yang aggressively went for the green in two shots,
but hit her approach shot way left of the greenside grandstands, before chipping
on and saving par. Tseng reached the green in three shots and had a chance to
win, but missed a four-foot birdie putt.
¡§After I saw her good third shot, I just want to make sure to make a par,¡¨ Yang
said. ¡§I¡¦m not meaning she¡¦s going to miss that, but you never know what¡¦s going
to happen.¡¨
The 22-year-old Tseng leads the tour with five victories this season, including
major wins in the LPGA Championship and a defense of her women¡¦s British Open
title.
Tseng earned US$300,000 to push her tour-leading total to US$2,116,051. Last
year at Pinnacle, she closed with a 65 to beat Michelle Wie by a stroke.
Ai Miyazato (66) was third at 11-under. Cristie Kerr (68) was another stroke
back.
Miyazato moved to 10-under on the par-five 14th when she holed out for eagle
from a greenside bunker.
¡§It was a perfect bunker shot, I must say,¡¨ Miyazato said.
Sandra Gal had the best round of the day, a 64 that left her tied for fifth with
Taiwan¡¦s Amy Hung (¬x¨G¼z) (66) and Belen Mozo of Spain (68) at nine-under. The
German star had nine birdies, including five in her first nine holes, with two
bogeys.
Taiwan¡¦s Candie Kung (ÅǩɵÓ) carded a 73 to finish tied for 61st place on
two-over.
Paula Creamer, the world No. 9, had a 69 to tie for eighth with hometown
favorite Stacy Lewis (70) at eight-under. Creamer had five birdies in her first
nine holes and was a stroke behind Yang through 10 holes, but dropped back with
a bogey on the par-four 12th. After Creamer three-putted from 10 feet, she
tossed her ball in a pond in frustration.
Tseng Mao-hsin (´¿ZÍQ), Yani Tseng¡¦s father, who stayed up overnight to watch the
tournament on TV, said he was excited to see his daughter score another win.
¡§I was nervous seeing Yani and Yang in a tight battle, but when it got to a
playoff, I had confidence that Yani would win,¡¨ Tseng Mao-hsin said. ¡§Besides
learning to handle pressure better after all these years of competition, Yani
has also improved her putting this year, but her irons haven¡¦t been quite as
accurate as before. As the top-ranked golfer, I hope she will continue to pursue
excellence to remain on top in the highly competitive golf world.¡¨
Additional reporting by staff writer, with CNA
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