Lee bests Miyazato in final
Seon Hwa Lee spoiled Ai Miyazato's latest bid for her first LPGA Tour title, beating the Japanese star, 2 and 1, yesterday in the final of the
Lee, 21, the rookie of the year last year after overtaking Miyazato to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic, knocked off the 12th-seeded Miyazato after beating No. 10 Mi Hyun Kim, 2 up, in an all-South Korean semifinal.
"I feel really great. I love match play," Lee said.
Miyazato won the par-4 14th with a conceded birdie to cut Lee's lead to a hole, but Lee took the par-4 15th with a 6-foot birdie putt after Miyazato missed an 8-footer. "That was a very important putt," Miyazato said.
They halved the par-5 16th with birdies, and Lee ended the match with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. Miyazato had about 5 feet left for birdie, but never got a chance to putt.
Miyazato, 22, a 14-time champion on the Japanese tour, is winless in 43 career starts on the LPGA Tour, a frustrating streak for the biggest female star in Japanese sports history.
"I didn't feel the pressure," Miyazato said. "She played very well. I honestly think I played very well, too."
PGA -- Joe Ogilvie eagled the par-4 16th to break a tie with Tim Clark and win his first Tour event in 230 starts by shooting a final-round 67 (14-under 266) at the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
Clark (71), Tim Herron (72) and Charlie Wi (68), finished 10 under.
