Pettersen holds off Munoz, wins Taiwan LPGA







7 hours ago
















YANGMEI, Taiwan (AP) — Suzann Pettersen shot a 3-under 69 Sunday and held off Azahara Munoz to win her second consecutive Taiwan Sunrise LPGA championship.


Pettersen birdied Nos. 13, 14 and 18 to pull away after her bogey on the par-5 No. 9 allowed Munoz to close within one stroke. Pettersen finished at 9-under 279, beating Munoz by five shots. The Spaniard had a final-round 70.


"It feels great to come here and defend my title and play as well as I did," Pettersen said. "Since the very first shot on Thursday, the conditions gave us a very big challenge. Azahara gave me an even bigger challenge.


"I can almost thank her for keep pressing and keep pushing me because I just had to keep staying aggressive and try to make birdies."


Earlier, Munoz had birdies on Nos. 4, 7 and 8, to continue her strong run of play after Saturday's round, when her 69 put her in contention for the first time. She went on to birdie the 12th before bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16 allowed Pettersen to pull away.


Despite falling short, Munoz expressed satisfaction with her playミズノMP 69 .


"I was 4 under through 12 holes, and I was really playing really well," she said. "I made two bogeys coming in, but I hit two really good shots and one came up short and one came up long. Just misjudged the wind a little bit, but I played really well."


Caroline Hedwall finished third at 286 after a 70 in the final round.


By winning the Taiwan event, Pettersen crossed the $2 million mark in season earnings and put herself in position to challenge South Korea's Ingbee Park for the overall 2013 LPGA crown with two tournaments remaining. Park did not compete in Taiwan.


Taiwan's Yani Tseng, the 2011 Sunrise champion and former LPGA No. 1, shot 72 and finished 10 over for the tournament, 19 strokes off the pace.


Tseng's poor play on Thursday and Friday took her out of contention.

Pacific to earn Masters invitation

Lee wins Asia-Pacific to earn Masters invitation

6 minutes agoAP - Sports

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In this photo released by OneAsia, Lee Chang-woo of South Korea poses with the winner's trophy after the final round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at the Nanshan International Golf Club in Longkou, Shandong Province, China, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. (AP Photo/OneAsia, Paul Lakatos)

LONGKOU CITY, China (AP) -- Lee Chang-woo of South Korea won the Asia-Pacific Amateur by three shots Sunday to earn a trip to the Masters in April.

Lee was worried that he would think more about going to Augusta National than his golf at Nanshan International. That was never a problem. He stretched his lead to as many as six shots on the back nine. Even with a bogey on the last hole, he finished with a 1-under 70 to win by three over Shohei Hasegawa of Japan.

The winner of the Asia-Pacific gets an invitation to the Masters and is exempt until the final qualifying stage for the British Open. Hasegawa also gets into final qualifying for the British Open.

Defending champion Guan Tianlang shot 73 and finished eight shots behind.

Lee tied for second along with Rory McIlroy last week in the Korea Open, and he kept his form all week in tough conditions at Nanshan. He finished at 3-under 281, the only player to break par. Hasegawa birdied two of the last three holes for a 71.

''Playing in the Masters has been my dream since I started playing golf,'' said Lee, who won the Dongbu Promi Open on the Korean tour last month. ''I didn't think I would have an opportunity, so this is a great honor, as is playing in International Final Qualifying for the (British) Open Championship. I have never been so excited.''

Lee made bogey on the second hole to briefly fall into a tie for the lead with 16-year-old Dou Zecheng of China. Dou bogeyed the next two holes, however, and Lee began to pull away. He went 10 straight holes without a bogey as his lead expanded, closing with a double bogey that only affected the final margin.

''I have been looking at the leaderboard since the third round and I was a bit nervous,'' Lee said. ''I just tried to keep calm and it seemed to work. I knew I was going to win after the tee shot on the 17th hole. Everything worked well during the last two rounds.MP 69アイアン

''I can't believe I am going to go to the Masters,'' he said. ''I think I will only realize it tomorrow.''

Hasegawa made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the silver medal as the runner-up, which got him into the final stage of British Open qualifying.

''My putting let me down over the weekend, and I hope to return next year to get the trophy,'' Hasegawa said. ''But I'm very glad to have a chance to qualify for the (British) Open. I think this is a great chance for my golfing career.''

Since the Asia-Pacific Amateur began in 2009, all but one winner has made the cut at the Masters - Hideki Matsuyama twice and Guan last year. Guan was 14 in April, making him the youngest player to make the cut in any major held over 72 holes.

Starting the final round five shots back, Guan failed to make a birdie Sunday.

Oliver Goss, already in the Masters as the runner-up at the U.S. Amateur, was making a move with a 34 on the front nine until taking a triple bogey on the 10th hole and a bogey on the 11th. His 72 left him seven shots behind.