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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Annika Sorenstam waved to the raucous gallery, picked up the ball and tossed it toward a skybox after ending a nearly flawless day with a 20-foot birdie putt.
It was the perfect finish to a round that carried her to an LPGA record and a victory at the State Farm Classic.
Down five strokes at the start of play Sunday, Sorenstam tied the LPGA mark for the lowest final-round score by a tournament winner with 62. She shot 10 under for the day to finish 19 under, two strokes ahead of Cristie Kerr, who shot 67.
"To come from five behind and to win by two, it's pretty amazing," Sorenstam said. "It's something I'm going to remember for quite some time."
Sorenstam birdied four of her first five holes and ended the round in similar fashion for her fourth victory this year and third on the LPGA Tour.
"I just haven't felt like I've been able to finish," said Sorenstam, whose career-low round is 59. "This year, it's been 14 or 15 really good holes. ... I felt like I was in control most of the day."
She started the year with a victory at the MasterCard Classic but went winless for nearly four months before capturing the U.S. Open in July. Mostly, she has been inconsistent.
But now she has back-to-back dramatic victories.
Playing on her home course in Stockholm three weeks ago, Sorenstam beat Lorena Ochoa by one shot at the TPC of Scandinavia.
And on Sunday, she finally seemed comfortable at The Rail Golf Club.
She became the fourth LPGA winner to shoot a final-round 62 and the first since Juli Inkster shot 10 under at the 2003 LPGA Corning Classic. The others: Kathy Whitworth at the 1968 Holiday Inn Classic and Mickey Wright at the 1964 Tall City Open.
Brittany Lincicome of Seminole shot 6-under 66 during the final round. She finished tied for ninth at 14-under 274. Jennifer Gleason of Clearwater finished tied for 58th at even 288.
Singh's career day sets up final pairing with Woods
NORTON, Mass. - All that hard work finally paid off for Vijay Singh, who shot the best round of his PGA career and put himself in position to end another streak by Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Singh shot 5 under on his first five holes, then finished with three straight birdies for 10-under 61 to set the course record at the TPC of Boston and build a three-shot lead over Woods, who shot 67.
Two years ago, Singh went toe-to-toe with Woods in the final round on Labor Day and beat him by three shots to rise to No. 1, ending Woods' record 264 consecutive weeks atop the world ranking.
Currently, Woods has won four straight tour events, and Singh is poised to end that streak.
"It would be good," Singh said. "I'm not going to be thinking about his streak or beating him. I've been playing long enough to know that you don't go out there and worry about the guys who are playing with you. You worry about your own game and see what happens."
Even more impressive than his score were the miserable conditions in which Singh shot his 61.
A light rain at the start of the round never let up, coating the fairways with a thin layer of moisture, making it difficult to keep clubs dry. But with little wind, Singh took dead aim at the flags and was never too far off.
He finished at 11-under 202.
Woods was still on the practice green when he noticed Singh was 5 under through his first five holes. The next time he glanced at a leaderboard, Singh was on his way to 61.
"It was awfully impressive playing," Woods said. "Given the conditions, that's a great round of golf."
Woods had a chance to get closer if not catch him during the final two hours after Singh was done. Woods missed four birdie putts inside 15 feet on the back nine, including putts of 10 feet on No. 15 and 8 feet on No. 17.
Justin Rose finished with 69, leaving him tied with Woods at 205.
"Hopefully, I can play a little better than last time," Woods said of his duel with Singh. "I just know that (today), given that conditions are as soft as they are, I'm going to have to make some birdies."
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Former U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson made an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for 4-under 68 and a one-stroke victory over Jay Haas and Danny Edwards at the First Tee Open in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Simpson, who began the final round trailing Tom Kite by two strokes, captured his first senior event, finishing at 12-under 204. Simpson, who claimed the 1987 Open by one stroke over Tom Watson at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, had to wait for a few groups, including Haas and Edwards, who missed midlength putts to tie for the lead.
Edwards, who had a final-round 68, and Haas, who shot 70, finished at 205. Kite, who had a final-round 73, and Eduardo Romero, who shot 71, were at 207.
EUROPEAN PGA: Sweden's Henrik Stenson, who is making his Ryder Cup debut this month, eagled the first playoff hole to win the BMW International in Munich, Germany. He shot 4-under 68 to force a playoff with two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Padraig Harrington at 15-under 273. Stenson hit a 5-iron to 5 feet on the first playoff hole, the 568-yard 18th. Goosen missed an eagle putt from 25 feet and Harrington drove into the rough, then found a greenside bunker.
NATIONWIDE TOUR: Gavin Coles outlasted Bradley Hughes to win his third tour title - and first on American soil - at the Legend Financial Group Classic in Highland Heights, Ohio. The two Australians battled it out at the StoneWater Golf Club, with Coles firing 3-under 68 to wipe out a three-stroke deficit to Hughes at the beginning of the day. Coles finished the tournament at 10-under 274.
ASIAN TOUR: South African Anton Haig claimed his first tour title with a one-stroke victory at the Pulai Springs Malaysian Masters in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Haig shot 4-under 68 in the final round and posted a 22-under 266
TODAY ON TV
PGA: Deutsche Bank Championship, 3 p.m., Ch. 28
EUROPEAN RYDER CUP TEAM
The 10 qualifiers and Ian Woosnam's two captain's picks to defend the Cup on Sept. 22-24 against the United States at Kildare Golf and Country Club, Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland:
1. Paul Casey, England
2. Luke Donald, England
3. Sergio Garcia, Spain
4. Padraig Harrington, Ireland
5. David Howell, England
6. Robert Karlsson, Sweden
7. Paul McGinley, Ireland
8. Colin Montgomerie, Scotland
9. Jose Maria Olazabal, Spain
10. Henrik Stenson, Sweden
11. Darren Clarke, Ireland
12. Lee Westwood, England
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