Straight to top

NEWPORT, R.I. -- Postponed by fog at the start, sullied by moisture throughout, and extended by a tie after four rounds, the 61st US Women's Open was finally settled yesterday with thunder (Annika Sorenstam's blistering start) and blunder (Pat Hurst's putting).

The score in the 18-hole playoff was convincing: Sorenstam a 1-under-par 70, Hurst a 3-over 74, though it wasn't that close. Hurst's only birdie of the day was an improbable 60-foot putt at the 18th when matters had long since been decided. And with leads of three shots through three holes and five through nine, Sorenstam was as free as the wind out on Newport Harbor.

Of course, on a sun-splashed day that featured golf's official colors -- blue sky, green grass -- there was a rare absence of wind at this classic American courses, but you get the point. It started brilliantly for the dominating Swede -- a birdie for her, a three-putt bogey for Hurst at the 532-yard, par-5 first hole -- and never dulled, though it did return moisture to a course that has had more than enough this spring and summer.

This time, though, it was from tears of joy.

``They don't give this championship away, you've got to earn it," said Sorenstam, who won the US Women's Open twice, in 1995 and '96, and couldn't figure out how to do it again for the next nine summers. ``I worked so hard to do it again and it just never really happened."

Sorenstam and Hurst had been locked in the top spot at the close of play for three straight days, each shooting 2-under 69 to start, then 71 in Round 2. There had been separation in Sunday morning's third round (Sorenstam 73, Hurst 75), but when that day's 36-hole marathon session had concluded in a blustery twilight, they were tied once again, this time at even-par 284. Thus were we presented with the 10th 18-hole playoff in the history of this championship.

It may have been the quickest, too, for when Hurst missed a 4-foot try for birdie at the par-4 second and Sorenstam struck again with a birdie at the par-4 third, a blanket of finality embraced Newport CC.

OK, so Sorenstam disagreed. ``I was trying not to think too much about how many shots I was ahead."

OK, so Hurst disagreed, too. ``In this game, you just never know. I just kept pushing," she said.

Their opinions notwithstanding, it sure felt over after three. Then, at the sixth, it felt even more so, because despite the first of her two bogeys, Sorenstam added to her lead. She did so because Hurst missed the fairway, hacked out, wedged her third onto the green, then missed a 20-foot putt and a 2-footer to make double-bogey and fall four behind.

``You need to putt out here and I didn't get anything going," said Hurst, who had pushed into the playoff thanks to that part of her game. She had made the most birdies (16) and tied for the fewest putts (110) in regulation, but when she failed to make a sliding 12-footer to save par at the par-4 ninth, she was out in 4-over 39 and trailing by five.

They played the back nine because it is mandated, but those who apply polish to the record books were free to go to work and put a shine to the incomparable Sorenstam's record:

She became the first wire-to-wire winner in this event since Betsy King in 1989.

In winning her 10th major championship, the 35-year-old Sorenstam pulled even with Babe Didrikson Zaharias, trailing only Patty Berg (15), Mickey Wright (13), and Louise Suggs (11).

Her 68 career wins sits behind only Kathy Whitworth (88) and Wright (82).

True, she had not won this US Women's Open since 1996, but Sorenstam has now won a major championship in six straight seasons.

She's the sixth player to have at least three US Women's Open titles on her résumé.

Pretty impressive stuff from a quiet, unassuming woman from Stockholm.

Then again, Sorenstam has always dreamed of being the golf champion that she is, and for that she gives credit to another Swede, specifically, Liselotte Neumann's triumph in the 1988 US Women's Open.

``When she won that, I'll never forget [that] I walked down to the gas station just down the hill from my parents' [house]. She was all over the headlines," said Sorenstam. ``I thought then, `Wow, this is pretty cool.' I would say she's the one that sparked it for me, that this could be possible one day."

Possible? With Sorenstam nothing seems impossible, even if she had been mired in what was foolishly called a ``slump." She won in her first start this year, then went winless in the next eight, her worst drought since 2001. Critics cited a variety of reasons, but she said it was simple. The grip. ``We needed to strengthen it," said Henri Reis, Sorenstam's coach who was over from Sweden and in attendance this week.

Reis surveyed the scene at the 18th green and laughed when asked if he had read the stories of Sorenstam's demise. ``They expect too much from her sometimes," he said. ``And in Sweden they expect even more. They think she should win every tournament."

For sure, Sorenstam had won this championship, maybe not in regulation, but most emphatically in a playoff that she never let Hurst get a grip on. Having made her third and final birdie of the day at the par-4 12th, Sorenstam went up by six, then was free to coast. The bogey at the par-3 13th was harmless and Sorenstam actually enjoyed seeing her opponent make that 60-foot birdie at the 18th, a meaningless one, but still, ``she's had a terrific week," said Sorenstam.

Just not as good as the Swede's week, which was drawing to a close as she marched toward the 18th green. The roars were for her, presumably, but Sorenstam waited for Hurst so they could walk together.

``She's a class act," said Hurst.

Behind the green, Kathy Gordon of the US Golf Association held the trophy, but only for the time in which it took Sorenstam to two-putt from 25 feet and put her official signature on the championship that she most covets, but the one that seemed the most elusive.

On this day of pulsating warmth, both Sorenstam and Hurst wore yellow. But only Sorenstam was free to add gold (the medal) and silver (the trophy) to the wardrobe.