Safeway Classic - Final Round

M.J. Hur birdied the second playoff hole to defeat Suzann Pettersen and Michele Redman, winning the Safeway Classic.  It is the first career victory for the 19-year-old rookie from Korea.  Michelle Wie, Ai Miyazato and Seon Hwa Lee finished tied for fourth, two shots out of the playoff.

Kick up your feet - this recap is a long one.  The expected Sunday Free-For-All was just that, with birdies aplenty by the leaders and a couple of eagles too under perfect scoring conditions.  Nordqvist, the overnight leader, jumped out with a birdie at 1 but she gave the shot right back at 2.  Anna started slipping back from there because she was only making pars.  Pettersen birdied 1 and 3 and Seon Hwa Lee birdied 3 to both join Nordqvist at -10, and then Miyazato birdied 4 to create our first four-way tie of the day.  Suzann birdied 5 to take the solo lead but it didn't last too long.  Redman birdied 6 and 7 to tie for the lead, then rolled home her third straight at 8 to take the lead for herself at -12.  Ai birdied 7 and 8 to join Michele at -12.  Lee fell back when she bogeyed 6 and doubled 7.  Michelle Wie got within two shots with a birdie at 8 but she stalled out after only parring the next two of the par-5 Trio at the Turn.

Hur and Christina Kim quickly jumped into the picture.  Christina birdied 9 and eagled 10 to reach -12 and tie for the lead with Redman and Miyazato.  M.J. went on a streak most players only dream of - she played 8 through 12 in -6 (four birdies and a chip-in eagle at 10) to also reach -12.  By this time, Pettersen had birdied 9 to create our second four-way tie of the day (with Redman, Miyazato and Kim) and birdied 10 to seize the lead for herself.  Bogeys - yes, bogeys - by Kim at 11 and Miyazato at 9 dropped them two shots back.  Lee mounted a comeback with three straight birdies at the Par-5 Trio to reach -10.  At this moment the board showed Pettersen in front at -13, Redman and Hur at -12, Kim and Miyazato at -11, Wie, Lee and Nordqvist at -10.

Suzann turned the firehose on our Free-For-All when she birdied 11 and 12 to open up a three-shot advantage just as ESPN came on-air.  As she often has in the past (I'll try to document that for you tomorrow) Pettersen started stressing almost immediately, running her birdie try at 13 four feet by (she saved par) and pulling her tee shot at the par-3 14^th 15 yards left.  Suzann chipped up to five feet but missed the par putt.  Hur had birdied 14 and had three feet to tie for the lead at 16 but lipped it out.  Pettersen blew up on her third to the par-5 15^th, flying 20 yards over the green.  After getting line-of-sight relief because the camera tower was in her way, she chipped up short of the green, chipped her fifth eight feet by the hole and missed her bogey putt.  Suddenly Hur was the leader by one with Pettersen and Redman tied for second.

17 played as a 220-yard par-4 today (water and a bunker protect the front from a direct assault).  Nobody made eagle so it wasn't as easy as it sounds.  M.J. came up just short and left of the green, chipped about seven feet past but badly missed on her birdie try.  Kim made a mess of 17, chipping back-and-forth - she took bogey there and another at 18 to finish T8.  Pettersen missed a 12-footer for birdie at 16.  Miyazato missed from 12 feet at 15 and five feet at 16.  Hur two-putted from 20 feet to par 18, finishing with 65 and at -13.  Back at 17, Redman chipped nicely from the rough and Pettersen recovered from the bunker, setting up short birdie putts for each.  Suzann knocked hers in but Michele insisted on fixing a mark before dropping hers (she was forced to get a ruling on whether it was a ball mark or spike mark because neither Pettersen nor Natalie Gulbis would confirm it).  They went to 18 tied for the lead with M.J.

Pettersen drove into the creek right but her ball kicked out into the rough.  She had to lay up from the thick lie.  From the fairway Redman landed in the center of the green about 25 feet away.  Pettersen played her third to eight feet.  Redman's birdie putt stopped six inches away and she tapped in to tie Hur.  Suzann drilled her par putt to stay in the tie.  Playing in the final group, Miyazato had birdied 17 from four feet to reach -12 and needed birdie at 18 to join the playoff.  After rolling her tee shot into the second cut, Ai played her approach into the rough left of the green.  Needing a miraculous chip-in to create a four-way playoff, she missed the pin by about a foot and rolled 20 feet by.  The bogey cost Ai solo fourth place.

For the second straight year at Safeway, three players squared off in extra holes.  They replayed 18 for the first playoff hole.  All three drove perfectly.  Redman played her second to about 25 feet.  Hur reached the back shelf of the green but found the left fringe.  Pettersen flew hers to about 10 feet behind the hole.  M.J. chipped about six feet short of the hole.  Michele's birdie putt missed left.  Putting to win, Suzann missed left.  Hur saved her par, but Redman missed her three-footer to fall out of the playoff.  Pettersen tapped in so the two remaining went to the short par-4 17^th.  Hur drove into the left intermediate cut.  Pettersen mis-hit her tee shot short and right, into the rough and right of the creek which runs alongside the green.  Hur was away despite having the much easier shot - she chipped nicely to six feet.  Pettersen was in a good lie but short-sided for her second, which she landed next to the hole but rolled about 18 feet by.  She missed her birdie putt left.  Putting to win, M.J. nailed it.

That was certainly unexpected!  Time for all the haters to break out the "Koreans are ruining the LPGA" comments again.  I'll have plenty more in tomorrow's Epilogue but for now - Congratulations M.J.!