Kerr knocks off Jeon in playoff
Cristie Kerr rolled in a 3-foot par putt on the seventh playoff hole yesterday to beat rookie Seol-An Jeon in the Takefuji Classic in Las Vegas.
The win, Kerr's second since joining the LPGA Tour in 1997, didn't come easy.
She finally was able to pull out the victory after squandering a four-shot lead when she bogeyed four of the last six holes of regulation, including missing a short putt on No. 18 that would have won it.
Kerr closed with a 1-over-par 73 to match Jeon (69) at 7-under 209 in the 54-hole event.
Kerr and Jeon, a 22-year-old from Seoul, matched pars for the first six extra holes. Jeon finally made the first critical mistake when she hit her second shot on the par-4, 412-yard 16th far over the green.
Her next shot struck a tree limb and dropped short of the green, and she then chipped 35 feet below the hole. Kerr was on the fringe with her second shot, then two-putted for the title. Gloria Park (67) finished third at 6 under, and Mi-Hyun Kim (70) was another shot back.
PGA -- Ted Purdy shot a 6-under 65 to take a four-stroke lead over Heath Slocum after three rounds of the MCI Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Purdy, whose only career victory came on the Nationwide Tour last year, has the lead in a PGA Tour event for the first time. The 30-year-old seized control with five birdies on the front nine and continued his stellar play down the stretch, moving to 12-under 201.
Purdy's play was a surprise, considering he missed the cut in his last two tournaments and had just one score in the 60s in 12 rounds before this week. His best finish in a PGA Tour event was a tie for 11th at the 2000 Tucson Open, where his $72,000 in earnings surpassed the $46,600 he made in 27 PGA Tour events the previous year. While Purdy soared, British Open champion Ben Curtis faded with a 4-over 75. Curtis, the second-round leader after a season-best 66, struggled with his putting and fell into a tie for 13th.
Purdy made a 14-foot birdie putt at No. 4 to tie Curtis for the lead and moved ahead with a 9-footer for birdie at the fifth. He added a third straight birdie on the sixth hole, then closed the front side with a 10-foot birdie putt, extending his lead to two strokes. Masters champion Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, and Sergio Garcia skipped the event.
Champions -- Gil Morgan duplicated his first-round 4-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Tom Jenkins after two rounds at the Blue Angels Classic in Milton, Fla.
European -- Ricardo Gonzalez shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Seville Open in Spain.
Nationwide -- James Driscoll of Chestnut Hill shot a 5-under 67 to build a two-shot lead after three rounds of the Arkansas Classic in Hot Springs Village.
