SLIDESHOW:
Michelob Ultra action - Sunday
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• WOODY: Mental edge now part of Kerr's game
• LPGA Leader Board
EXTRAS
• Michelob Ultra Open (official site)
• Golf at Kingsmill Resort
WILLIAMSBURG -- Cristie Kerr preserved one Michelob Ultra Open tradition while destroying another.
Kerr, brandishing experience and confidence like a broadsword, shot 1-under-par 71 yesterday to win the $2.2 million Michelob Ultra Open in what may -- or may not -- have been the LPGA's final visit to the Kingsmill Resort.
"We need to come back here," said Kerr, who finished two shots ahead of In-Kyung Kim and three ahead of Song-Hee Kim and Lindsey Wright. "It will be a monumental loss for the LPGA if we lose this tournament -- at least in my opinion." Kerr said she will "bring a sponsor myself next year, if I have to."
The 2009 tournament was the last in a two-year contract between the LPGA and Kingsmill, an Anheuser-Busch property. Negotiations among the LPGA, Anheuser-Busch and InBev, the European brewing conglomerate that now owns Anheuser-Busch, are expected to take place this summer.
Kerr, who played steady golf while all around her were flailing and failing, became the first two-time champion in the tournament's seven-year history. She also upheld a distinction of which tournament organizers are proud: Newcomers and journeymen don't win on Kingmill's 6,315-yard River Course. Hall of Famers and self-assured champions do.
"I feel like I'm finally starting to tap into my potential," said Kerr, a 31-year-old Floridian who posted a 72-hole score of 16-under-par 268 -- significantly better than the 8-under 276 with which she won here in 2006. "For a long time I didn't believe that, but I believe it now. I think the mud's coming off and the gold is shining through underneath."
Said Kerr, who collected $330,000 for her 12th LPGA victory: "I definitely know I'm good. There's no issue there -- not anymore."
Poise was Kerr's most impressive ally on a course rendered nasty by quick greens and nettlesome pin placements. She made few mistakes on a picture-postcard Mother's Day afternoon along the lower James River. When the tournament's moment of truth arrived as the last two groups played the 15th and 16th holes, Kerr was as solid as a block of polished granite.
She collected a 2½-foot birdie at the 15th, a 473-yard par-5, to pull abreast of Song-Hee Kim at 16-under. Kim, playing with In-Kyung Kim in the next-to-last group, removed herself from contention with a double bogey at No. 16, a prickly par 4. Bogeys at No. 16 also felled Wright and In-Kyung Kim.
Those demons were hovering nearby when Kerr lined up a tricky 7-foot putt for par at No. 16. So true was her putt -- "one of my best all day," she said -- that she began pumping her fist in celebration while the ball was still 2o feet from the hole. Kerr, who trailed by one when she arrived at the 15th tee, led by two when she departed the 16th green.
Wright, a career non-winner who shared the 54-hole lead with Kerr at 15-under, shot a 73 yesterday.
"It was a good experience, an awesome experience," she said. "It was the first time I've really been in this position. I learned a lot for sure."
Wright battled all week, yesterday included, against an ill-defined malaise.
"Any other day, I might be in a playoff right now," she said after leaving the 18th green . "I wasn't 100 percent, to be honest. But that's no excuse. I shot 7-under feeling lousy [on Saturday], and I shot 6-under feeling lousy [on Thursday]."
Contact Vic Dorr Jr. at (804) 649-6442 or vdorr@timesdispatch.com.
Cristie Kerr, $330,000-------------------------69-63-66-70-268
In-Kyung Kim, $202,680-------------------------68-64-67-71-270
Song-Hee Kim, $130,385------------------------69-63-68-71-271
Lindsey Wright, $130,385-------------------65-69-64-73-271
Wendy Ward, $91,548-------------------------72-64-67-70-273
Shiho Oyama, $74,902-------------------------69-66-70-69-274
Angela Stanford, $58,813-------------------68-68-70-69-275
Natalie Gulbis, $58,813-------------------------70-65-68-72-275
Ai Miyazato, $49,380-------------------------71-65-72-68-276
Lorena Ochoa, $44,941-------------------------64-65-74-74-277
Teresa Lu, $37,755-------------------------69-72-67-70-278
Juli Inkster, $37,755-------------------------71-67-70-70-278
Seon Hwa Lee, $37,755-------------------------67-70-70-71-278
Il Mi Chung, $37,755-------------------------69-70-67-72-278
Michelle Wie, $29,073-------------------------70-67-73-69-279
Amy Yang, $29,073-------------------------67-74-68-70-279
A. Hanna-Williams, $29,073----------------71-67-69-72-279
Hee-Won Han, $29,073-------------------------66-69-72-72-279
Na Yeon Choi, $29,073-------------------------67-68-70-74-279
Jiyai Shin, $22,499-------------------------70-68-76-66-280
Kyeong Bae, $22,499-------------------------74-66-73-67-280
Becky Morgan, $22,499-------------------------73-69-70-68-280
Jimin Kang, $22,499-------------------------71-70-71-68-280
Young Kim, $22,499-------------------------70-69-71-70-280
Nicole Castrale, $22,499-------------------------71-67-69-73-280
Yani Tseng, $22,499-------------------------71-64-72-73-280
Shanshan Feng, $22,499-------------------------70-67-69-74-280
Katherine Hull, $17,444-------------------------69-71-74-67-281
Meena Lee, $17,444-------------------------73-70-70-68-281
Kris Tamulis, $17,444-------------------------68-70-70-73-281
Sarah Lee, $17,444-------------------------66-71-71-73-281
Minea Blomqvist, $17,444----------------66-71-70-74-281
Kristy McPherson, $15,091----------70-69-72-71-282
Hee Young Park, $15,091---------------------71-67-73-71-282
Jill McGill, $13,372-------------------------73-69-73-68-283
Jin Joo Hong, $13,372-------------------------71-68-73-71-283
Chella Choi, $13,372-------------------------68-73-70-72-283
Reilley Rankin, $13,372-------------------------70-69-71-73-283
Louise Stahle, $10,472-------------------------71-72-71-70-284
Brittany Lang, $10,472-------------------------69-74-71-70-284
Diana D'Alessio, $10,472------------------------69-72-72-71-284
Karrie Webb, $10,472-------------------------74-68-70-72-284
Leah Wigger, $10,472 -------------------- 72-70-69-73-284
Momoko Ueda, $10,472-------------------------69-71-71-73-284
Carin Koch, $10,472-------------------------71-68-72-73-284
Jin Young Pak, $10,472-------------------------73-70-65-76-284
Beth Bader, $8,122-------------------------68-75-71-71-285
Irene Cho, $8,122-------------------------69-72-71-73-285
Ji Young Oh, $8,122-------------------------71-66-74-74-285
Giulia Sergas, $8,122-------------------------71-68-69-77-285
Sarah Kemp, $8,122-------------------------69-68-70-78-285
Hye Jung Choi, $7,324-------------------------68-73-69-76-286
Brandie Burton, $6,991-------------------------72-71-71-73-287
Stephanie Louden, $6,991----------------71-69-72-75-287
Alena Sharp, $6,436-------------------------73-69-72-74-288
Vicky Hurst, $6,436-------------------------69-72-73-74-288
Anna Rawson, $6,436-------------------------71-69-72-76-288
Eun-Hee Ji, $5,770-------------------------71-72-71-75-289
Mika Miyazato, $5,770-------------------------69-73-72-75-289
Suzann Pettersen, $5,770------------------68-73-71-77-289
Meaghan Francella, $5,382---------70-71-75-74-290
Soo-Yun Kang, $5,382-------------------------73-68-74-75-290
Anja Monke, $4,993-------------------------72-70-74-75-291
Sophie Giquel, $4,993-------------------------70-72-74-75-291
Wendy Doolan, $4,993-------------------------72-70-72-77-291
Sandra Gal, $4,993-------------------------71-71-72-77-291
Brittany Lincicome, $4,993-----------74-69-69-79-291
Allison Fouch, $4,605-------------------------70-73-76-73-292
Marcy Hart, $4,605-------------------------72-70-76-74-292
Sarah Jane Smith, $4,439--------------------70-72-73-78-293
Janice Moodie, $4,356-------------------------69-74-75-76-294
Eva Dahllof, $4,356-------------------------74-68-74-78-294
Lorie Kane, $4,244-------------------------71-71-78-75-295
Katie Futcher, $4,244-------------------------70-73-76-76-295
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