LPGA Championship - Final Round

Cristie Kerr dominated the LPGA Championship in historic fashion, winning by twelve shots over Song-Hee Kim.  It is her second career major championship and 14^th win overall.  Ai Miyazato and Jiyai Shin finished tied for third, two shots behind Kim but fourteen behind the champion.

Eight shots clear at the start, Kerr only had to avoid disaster and she did better than that.  She parred her first six holes (a nice save from at least ten feet at 5 helped), allowing Kim to draw within six when she birdied the 5^th.  Unfortunately for her, Song-Hee gave the shot right back at 6.  While Kim went on to collect pars two groups ahead, Cristie got rolling.  Birdies at 7 (from 20 feet) and 8 (the tap-in variety) opened up a nine-shot cushion as she made the turn.  Kim fired one last bullet when she birdied 11 but Kerr answered with birdie at 10.  When Song-Hee bogeyed 13, the margin was ten and victory was most definitely secured.

The only questions remaining were 1) would Cristie become #1 in the world, and 2) how much would she win by.  According to LPGA.com, Kerr would become the first American to attain the top Rolex spot if she won and Ai Miyazato did not finish second.  Ai was +1 T24 starting the day so no problem, right?  Well, Miyazato went crazy with seven birdies over her first 16 holes to tie Kim and Shin for second place.  A bogey at 18 (her fourth in as many days) killed her chances of hanging onto Number One as she finished at -5.  Kim birdied 15 and 17 to secure the runner-up position at -8 but bogeyed 18 to finish -7.  Shin birdied 17 to take solo third at -6 but also bogeyed 18 to finish tied with Ai. 

Kerr birdied 13 and 16 to reach -18 and take an eleven-shot lead over Kim.  By my reckoning, the all-time record for margin of victory in a major championship is twelve by Babe Zaharias in the 1954 U.S. Open.  At the par-5 17^th, Kerr only parred it so she needed birdie at 18 to tie Zaharias.  She got it to finish -19 and close out the most one-sided major championship in 56 years.

As I said at the top, this is a historic victory for Cristie Kerr.  She becomes the first American (and the fourth player this year) to reach Rolex #1.  She now has 16 Hall of Fame points.  She is once again a favorite in the Player of the Year race.  All that's left to say after that is - Congratulations!!

UPDATE:  So of course since my source only went back to 1950, Louise Suggs won the 1949 U.S. Open by 14 strokes.  Maybe we should call Kerr's the biggest MOV in modern LPGA history.