US Tour News round-up: Hilary Lunke won the US Women's Open title by one shot from Angela Stanford after a dramatic 18-hole play-off at Pumpkin Ridge, Oregon, yesterday.
Lunke, Stanford and Kelly Robbins, all from the US, had tied with a one-under-par total of 283 after Sunday's final round.
When they came to the last hole, a par five, yesterday, Lunke led Stanford by one and Robbins by three and looked to be certain of victory as she lay 15 feet from the pin in three with Stanford 30 feet away in the fringe.
But Stanford holed from long range, as she had done on Sunday to get into the play-off, and must have thought she had earned another lifeline. Lunke's putting had been on fire all day, however, and she stepped up to hole out for an unlikely victory.
It was the 24-year-old's first tour victory and the $560,000 winner's cheque was some nine times her combined previous winnings on tour. The key to her success was an astonishing short game which saw her take just 23 putts for the 18 holes of the play-off.
Lunke shot a one-under 70 yesterday, with Stanford finishing on 71 and Robbins, who also birdied the last, on 73.
Meanwhile, on the men's tour, Tiger Woods sent out an ominous warning ahead of next week's British Open at Sandwich as he cruised to a five-stroke victory in the 100th Western Open at Lemont in Illinois.
The world number one had a last round of 69 to finish on 21 under par at 267 - five clear of Rich Beem, who shot 67 on a weather-interrupted final day.
Jim Furyk carded the round of the day - a seven-under-par 65 - to finish tied for third alongside Mike Weir and Jerry Kelly on 274.
Two weather delays slowed Woods down but he built his lead to 10 strokes on the back nine before Beem played a five-hole stretch in five under to halve the margin.
"I just tried to shoot about three or four under par on the front nine and just basically put it out of reach," Woods said.
American Cliff Kresge was one of 15 players who earned late exemptions for the British Open at the tournament. Kresge fired a closing 71 to tie for sixth at 13-under 275 and book his place at Royal St George's as one of the leading players in a special US money list.
Open spots were on offer for the top seven and ties, not otherwise exempt, in the top 25 of a cumulative money list taken from the Players' Championship and the five PGA Tour events up to and including the Western Open.
Also gaining automatic places via the money list for Sandwich were fellow Americans Jonathan Kaye, Duffy Waldorf, Joey Sindelar, Joe Durant and J L Lewis, and South African Rory Sabbatini.
Britain's Luke Donald, whose final-round 69 lifted him into a tie for 13th on Sunday, also qualified as one of the eight top Western Open finishers not otherwise exempt.
Joining Donald were Argentina's Jose Coceres and Americans Dudley Hart, Scott McCarron, Skip Kendall, Ben Curtis, Chris Smith and Tom Byrum.
