by ldh2013 » Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:19 am
PHOENIX -- When Karrie Webb was asked about the all the good young players on the LPGA Tour, the questioner noted that Lydia Ko was 16 and Jessica Korda 21. . "Im not even that added up," the 39-year-old Australian replied. And to the Hall of Famers surprise, when all the math was done Sunday in the JTBC Founders Cup, she was the one posing for pictures with the big trophy. "I didnt expect to be sitting here at the start of the day," Webb said. "Even, actually, when I finished the day, I didnt expect to be sitting here. So I feel a little bit lucky, I guess, to be sitting here. But it doesnt make it feel any less special." She took the lead with a course-record 9-under 63, then waited 90 minutes to see if anyone could catch her. No one did. "I thought best-case scenario I was in a playoff," Webb said. Webb is close friends with founding player Louise Suggs and has a deep appreciation for the 13 women who started the LPGA Tour in 1950. "Its a very special event," Webb said. For the second time in the event, Webb overcame a six-stroke deficit in the final round. In 2011 in the inaugural tournament, she finished with a 66 for a one-stroke victory. "I just love the feeling of this event," Webb said. Webb donated $50,000 of her $225,000 check, giving $25,000 each to LPGA-USGA Girls Golf and "The Founders" documentary movie. She did an interview for the film this week and learned that only about 10 per cent of the necessary money had been raised to complete the project. "I was just standing on the 18th green when Mike (Whan, LPGA Tour commissioner) was introducing me, and it just came to me that, You know, I would love to be a part of that movie being produced." Webb talked Friday night with the 90-year-old Suggs, a fixture at the tournament the last three years but unable to make it this year. "She told me that I had to go out and shoot 64 yesterday, which I let her down and I didnt do that," Webb said. "So, I made it up to her today." She certainly did. Webb had 10 birdies and a bogey, playing the back nine in 6-under 30. She birdied five of the last six holes, making a birdie with a 20-footer on the par-4 18th to finish at 19-under 269. "I definitely putted probably the best I have all week," Webb said. "Worked on a few things last night and really got the ball rolling on the back nine." Webb also rallied to win the Womens Australian Open last month and has 41 LPGA Tour victories to match founding player Babe Zaharias for 10th place. Ko, the third-round leader, parred the final three holes to finish a stroke back along with 2013 winner Stacy Lewis, Azahara Munoz, Amy Yang and Mirim Lee. The 16-year-old Ko shot 70. She had a three-stroke lead after birdieing Nos. 2-5, slipped back with bogeys on Nos. 6, 9 and 11 and pulled within one with a birdie on the par-5 15th. "I tried to get myself together," Ko said. "I made some bogeys at the wrong time, which wasnt ideal, but I tried my best until the last." Munoz and Yang, playing together in the third-to-last group, missed long birdie putts on 18 and each shot 67. Lee shot 69 in the next group, also missing a long birdie try. That left Ko -- and her 25-foot try on the last was just short and right. "I played really well overall, so Im just going to take the positive out of it," Ko said. Lewis birdied the final two holes for a 66. "It was just really nice to hit the shots and make the putts at the end," Lewis said. "Seeing putts go in always helps going into the next couple of weeks." DIVOTS: Korda, playing with Ko in the last group, had a quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 seventh after hitting her approach into the desert, then played the final 11 holes in 5 under to tie for seventh at 17 under. The Bahamas winner shot 70. ... Hee-Won Han also matched the course record with a 63 to tie for 15th at 14 under. Playing in the ninth group of the day, she holed a sand wedge for eagle on No. 7. Ai Miyazato set the course record last year and Cristie Kerr matched it Saturday. Kerr finished with a 67 to tie for 10th at 16 under. ... Top-ranked Inbee Park closed with a 67 to tie for 10th. .C. -- The buzz is back in Charlotte. .com) - Marian Hossa scored two goals and the Chicago Blackhawks ended the Nashville Predators seven-game home winning streak with a 3-1 win on Saturday. . He doesnt need to win the race to claim a bigger prize. With a massive 90-point lead over Ferraris Fernando Alonso in the drivers standings, the German needs only to finish fifth or better to claim a fourth successive world championship title and become the third man to achieve the feat, joining Formula One greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.DENVER -- The Trail Blazers took Denvers best shot -- and the Nuggets took way too many errant shots thanks to Portlands stifling defence. Damian Lillard made up for the absence of fellow All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge by scoring 31 points in the Trail Blazers 100-95 win over the Nuggets on Tuesday night, including a pair of free throws and a layup in the closing minutes to help hold off Denvers fourth-quarter rally. "It was a difficult game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "We did a lot of good things, made some big plays defensively to win it at the end. The offence kind of shut down in the fourth quarter but our defence stayed solid, and to get a win like this in Denver is something we needed to do." The Nuggets trimmed an 18-point deficit to two but couldnt catch the Blazers. Denver made just 37 of 103 shots, including 27 of 64 in the paint, and couldnt even find the rim at the line, missing 9 of 26 free throws. Lillard scored 12 points in the third quarter when it looked as if to the Blazers were headed for a blowout win, but he saved his biggest shots for late in the fourth. Lillards clutch shooting helped Portland overcome a terrific performance by Denvers J.J. Hickson, who pulled down a career-high 25 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive side. Hickson led the Nuggets to a 64-41 advantage on the glass, appearing as a reserve power forward after starting 52 games at centre this season. "Twenty-five boards is exciting, but the win would have been more exciting," Hickson said. The Blazers again went with a smaller lineup with Aldridge missing his fourth straight game with a strained left groin, and Dorell Wright helped make up for Aldridges team-high 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds by giving Denver another long-range shooter to defend. As Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said before tip-off when talking about Aldridges absence, "Theres a big sigh of relief that you dont have to deal with that, but at the same time it just creates a different type of problem: Theyre one of the best -- if not the best -- 3-point shooting teams in the league. Theyre the best free-throw shooting team in the league. Theyre the highest-scoring team in the league." Six Blazers scored in double figures, including Nicolas ;Batums 16 points. . Aldridge averaged 34.5 points in the Blazers two earlier games against Denver this season and the Trail Blazers missed him in the fourth quarter when it was tougher to close this one out than they had expected when they surged to a 79-61 lead in the third. Randy Foye led Denver with 17 points. Denver again was without Ty Lawson, who leads the Nuggets with averages of 18 points and 8.8 assists. Hes missed seven straight games with a broken rib. Shaw also made a big change with his big man, starting 7-foot-1 Timofey Mozgov at centre in place of Hickson, a natural power forward pressed into duty at centre after JaVale McGee fractured his left tibia five games into the season. Hickson filled in admirably, averaging 11.4 points and 9.2 boards, but he shot just 52 per cent from the free-throw line, and Shaw said that "affected his confidence rolling to the basket aggressively and running the floor because maybe he doesnt want to get fouled." Mozgov, who was averaging 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, finished with 14 points and six boards. Hickson scored 16 points. Hickson said he was much more comfortable going back to power forward. "It just felt good to play my natural position," he said. He didnt seem bothered coming off the bench, either. "I dont know how many minutes I played, but I definitely played starters minutes tonight," said Hickson, who played just under 30 minutes. "So, coming off the bench or starting, people always tell me its not who starts, its who finishes and tonight, coach made the call to let me finish and that shows he has a lot of confidence in me still." Evan Fourniers pair of free throws with just over four minutes remaining capped a 15-2 run that pulled Denver to 86-84. Lillard ended the drought with a pair of free throws. After back-to-back buckets by Denvers Kenneth Faried, Lillard hit a finger-roll layup for a 92-88 lead, and the Nuggets never got any closer. "When youre in a situation like that, youve just got to find a way to get it done," Lillard said. NOTES: Blazers F Thomas Robinson played just 14 minutes and had a wrap on his left knee after the game. Stotts said he had no information on the injury. ' ' '
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