LPGA Tour Championship - Nordqvist wins, Ochoa takes Player of the Year

Anna Nordqvist birdied seven times in an eight-hole stretch and went on to win the LPGA Tour Championship by a two-stroke margin over Lorena Ochoa.  It is the second win of 2009 for the rookie from Sweden.  Kristy McPherson and Na Yeon Choi tied for third place three shots back while Hee Young Park, Sophie Gustafson and Song Hee Kim tied for fourth.  Jiyai Shin finished tied for eighth, leaving her one point behind Ochoa in the Rolex Player of the Year race.

Nordqvist began the final round tied for third, two shots behind McPherson.  After playing the first seven holes in -1, Anna started a five-birdie run to reach -12 and a two-shot lead.  She missed a seven-footer for par at 13 to snap the streak and reduce her lead to one.  Ochoa had birdied four times over her first seven holes but finished her front nine bogey-bogey to make the turn at -8.  Birdies at 11 and 12 left her at -10.  A 12-foot birdie at 15 momentarily tied Lorena for the lead but Nordqvist immediately answered with a seven-footer at 14.  Her tee shot to the par-3 15^th landed four feet away, setting up another birdie and another two-shot lead.  With pars over the last three holes (a brilliant sand shot at 17 was the best save), Anna nailed down the victory.

The Player of the Year race came down to the last hole.  Shin collected only one birdie all day (at 11) but since Ochoa was only in second place, Jiyai could still have won the award by finishing sixth or better.  Going to 17, Shin was tied for fifth while Ochoa held solo second.  Lorena found one of the greenside bunkers with her tee shot and faced a tough second - down-sloped and short-sided.  She didn't get it out of the sand.  Her third rolled about 15 feet past the hole.  Ochoa dropped the putt to save bogey and only fall into a tie for second, when she would have dropped to fourth had it missed.  Shin pulled her tee shot at 17 into the same bunker (I believe - there were four of them on the left side).  Her lie was a good one on the up-slope but she was forced to plant her left foot outside of the bunker.  Jiyai popped it into the rough short of the green.  She chipped to about three feet and made bogey, unfortunately dropping her to T8.  At 18 Ochoa rolled home a 14-footer for birdie to take solo second and eliminate the chance for anybody else to steal second away.  So Shin had to birdie 18 to win POY.  Her approach came up short of the green.  Jiyai's chip shot to win the award started straight at the hole but tailed off to the right, stopping just a few inches away from the cup.

Today's results probably clinch the Hound Dog Player of the Year title for Ochoa as well.  As soon as the final stats are posted, I'll crunch the numbers and let you know for sure.  In the meantime, congratulations to both Lorena and Jiyai on terrific seasons and to Anna Nordqvist on her outstanding performance!