Paula Creamer Wins SemGroup Championship

Last week, Creamer lost in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff to Annika Sorenstam.

It took Paula Creamer two sudden-death playoff holes, but eventually she prevailed over good friend and U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Juli Inkster at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons.

BROKEN ARROW, Texas - 21-year-old Paula Creamer said she erased the memory of her first LPGA playoff loss last week before she stepped off the plane in Tulsa on Tuesday afternoon, but a bogey on the 72nd hole of regulation at Cedar Ridge CC brought those memories flooding back in.

It took Creamer two sudden-death playoff holes, but eventually she prevailed over good friend and U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Juli Inkster at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons.

“I was not going to lose this week,” said Creamer, who fired rounds of 70-71-69-72 on the week. “I was going to win this golf tournament, and I did in the playoff. Unfortunately, it had to go into a playoff, but I can tell you I was 120 percent prepared going into that from last week.”

Last week, Creamer lost in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff to Annika Sorenstam after losing the lead on the 71st hole of regulation at the Stanford International Pro-Am in Aventura, Fla. This week, Creamer had chances to win the tournament on the 72nd hole and the first hole of sudden-death playoff where she missed similar 12-foot putts, but the third time was a charm as she rolled in an eight-footer to defeat Inkster and take home the $270,000 first-place check. It marks Creamer's sixth career LPGA Tour victory and second this season (Fields Open in Hawaii). Creamer is now 1-1 in playoffs in her career and has won four of eight events when she led entering the final round.

Inkster (72-73-67-70=282) walked onto the 18th hole Sunday down by two strokes, but she found herself in familiar position after draining an 18-footer for birdie, her third of the day, and watching Creamer bogey. Last year, Inkster lost in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff to Mi Hyun Kim.

“I'm encouraged by the way I'm playing, but I'm frustrated that I… just didn't seem like me out there today,” said Inkster, who earned $166,426 on Sunday. “I just couldn't get a feel for the putting.”

The SemGroup Championship's format was increased from 54-holes to 72-holes in the 2008.

Ochoa sneaks into top-5:

Rolex Rankings number one Lorena Ochoa fell short in her effort to tie the LPGA record for most consecutive wins in tournaments participated, but she did manage to earn her seventh top-10 finish in seven starts this season at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons. In a week where she carded two over-par rounds for the first time since the 2006 Weetabix Women's British Open, Ochoa managed just seven birdies – including a second round with no sub-pars – on her way to 3-over-par (73-74-71-69=287) and $62,719 in prize money.

Ochoa still leads the Tour in birdies (131), Rolex Player of the Year points (189), greens in regulation (77.4%), rounds under par (23 of 27) and scoring average (68.44).

Kang goes low:

South Korean Jimin Kang (82-70-69-67=288) was the only player in the field to fire three consecutive rounds under-par at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons. Kang, a one-time LPGA winner, finished eighth after shooting 11-over 82 in the first round. She made the cut on the number at 10-over 152, but recovered with a tournament-best 67 on Sunday to take home $45,103 and a season-best eight place finish.

Season-best finishes:

Four-time LPGA champion Dorothy Delasin recorded a season-best tie for fifth at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons. The 2000 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year started her week with a 7-over-par 78, but broke par on Saturday (69) and Sunday (68) to seal her finish.

Leta Lindley (71-72-72-74) played steady golf all week on her way to a tie for ninth place at the SemGroup Championship. Lindley's previous best finish in 2008 was a tie for 13th at the MasterCard Classic Honoring Alejo Peralta.

Source: LPGA.com

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports