Annika Sorenstam is on her way back, and a performance that harkened memories of her game before an injury-filled 2007 season suggests she's close.
“That's the way I used to play,” Sorenstam said yesterday after hitting every fairway and almost every green in a 5-under-par 66 that made her the runaway winner of the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va., with a tournament-record 19-under 265. She beat four others by a record-tying seven strokes.
“That's about as good as I can hit my iron shots,” she said. “Make a few more putts and get some distance on my drives and I'm going to tell you that's as good as I can play.”
The victory was the Swede's third in eight events this season, and in the process she also answered the doubters who said she could no longer play with new No. 1 Lorena Ochoa.
The eight-time player of the year pulled away from Ochoa on Saturday, using her typical steadiness for a 2-under 69, then did the same to Jeong Jang yesterday, leaving no doubt that her injuries are behind her, and that her once-unrivaled game is almost all the way back.
Jang missed a 1-foot putt on the final hole, costing her a second-place finish by herself and approximately $60,000.
European tour
Hennie Otto won his first European Tour title by shooting a 3-under 69 to hold off Oliver Wilson by one stroke at the Italian Open at Milan, Italy.
The South African finished at 25-under 263.
