Sweden's Sophie Gustafson broke free of world
No. 1 Lorena Ochoa to win the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge on Sunday, closing
with a four-under 68 in the final round.
Gustafson, who shared the third-round lead with Ochoa, captured her fifth tour
victory at 20-under 268 -- four shots in front of the Mexican star, who played
alongside her in the final group.
"It feels fantastic to win," said Gustafson.
Ochoa, in position to finally snap a five-month losing streak, only managed an
even-par 72 on the Blackhawk course as she finished at 16-under 272.
Amy Yang (66) and Sun Young Yoo (68) shared third place at 14-under 274.
While Gustafson enjoyed her first LPGA win since the 2003 Samsung World
Championship, Ochoa endured yet another disappointing Sunday as she looked to
finally break free from her winless slump.
Among the top 18 players on the final leaderboard, only Ochoa and Leta Lindley
failed to break par.
It got way from Ochoa early on.
The long-hitting Gustafson collected key birdies at the first and third holes
from 10 and five feet -- and then made a six-foot eagle putt at the par-five
fifth as she built a three-shot lead over Ochoa.
Ochoa, meanwhile, didn't collect her first birdie until No. 5. She later went
bogey-birdie on the last two holes of the front nine and was two strokes
behind around the turn.
Gustafson held her at bay with a steady back nine that included a 10-foot
birdie at the 13th, which restored her three-shot lead. She made a bogey at
the 18th, but so did Ochoa, giving Gustafson her four-stroke win.
The closing bogey for Ochoa put her at one-over par for the back nine, a far
cry from the closing kick she displayed while winning 21 times between
2006-08.
"I didn't really pay much attention to what she was doing," Gustafson said.
It was Ochoa's fifth top-10 finish since she won the Corona Championship in
her native Mexico in April. A dominant force on the LPGA Tour since she took
over the No. 1 ranking a couple of seasons ago, Ochoa stands just eighth on
the money list this year.
She admitted she didn't play her best.
"Sometimes you just have to get a few good breaks out there, and that didn't
happen for me today," said Ochoa. "But that's the way it is. That's golf. I'm
just going to have to take what happened today and just, you know, be happy
with myself.
"You know, my game is good, playable right now, so I'm happy about that."
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