Creamer holds off large pack to capture Samsung World Championship

10/6/2008

Paula Creamer could finally look to all those supporters who have seen her through every stage of her young golf career and know she'd made them proud while playing right in her backyard.

Creamer calmly won her biggest LPGA Tour title yet, holding off a large pack to win the Samsung World Championship on Sunday about an hour west of where she grew up in Pleasanton.

The 22-year-old Creamer beat Song-Hee Kim by a stroke, closing with a bogey-free 3-under 69 for a 9-under 279 total. Creamer earned $250,000 for her fourth title of the year and eighth overall, going the final 37 holes without a bogey.

On No. 18, Creamer holed a 5-foot par putt that rolled around the right lip of the cup and in. She dropped her putter, and raised both arms with a huge smile across her face as Kim waited nearby for a possible playoff. Creamer then jumped into a warm embrace with caddie Colin Cann.

Kim finished with a 68 for her fifth top-five finish of the year. She was busy signing autographs near the scoring tent when her coach told her there might be a playoff.

Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa, the 2006 and 2007 winner, shot a 69 to tie for third at 7 under with Juli Inkster (68), Suzann Pettersen (68) and Angela Stanford (70).

Creamer became the first American to win at least four times in a single season since Inkster had five victories in 1999. Six times out of 10 Creamer has gone on to win after leading entering the final day, including three times this year.

Creamer won with another consistent performance in the elite 20-player field on a spectacular day on the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay Golf Links. Crashing waves served as background noise and provided quite a scenic view along the back nine. But more than anything, the sunny last day by the Pacific lacked the tricky elements of the previous three rounds: fog, changing wind, rain and cold.

Five-time Samsung champion Annika Sorenstam finished her final appearance in this event at 3-over 291 after a 70. She tossed a ball into the crowd after her round, then signed her share of autographs.

Leaderboard – Final:

1.   Paula Creamer                  68 74 68 69 279 - 9
2.   Song-Hee Kim                   69 73 70 68 280 - 8
3.   Suzann Pettersen              74 70 69 68 281 - 7
      Lorena Ochoa                   69 73 70 69 281 - 7
      Juli Inkster                       73 72 68 68 281 - 7
      Angela Stanford                69 73 69 70 281 - 7
7.   Katherine Hull                   70 73 69 70 282 - 6
8.   Eun-Hee Ji                        73 73 70 67 283 - 5
      Ji-Yai Shin                        67 76 70 70 283 - 5
10. Cristie Kerr                        73 73 68 71 285 - 3

Source: AP, PGA Tour