Associated Press
Thursday, June 29

ABSECON, N.J. -- The last thing Wendy Ward wants to talk about these days is the one-stroke penalty she called on herself in the final round of the LPGA Championship, the one that cost her a spot in a playoff.

Don't get her wrong.

Ward has no regrets about her action Sunday. Her ball somehow moved slightly while she was addressing a 10-foot par putt on the 13th hole and she had to make the call after noticing it.

The problem is everyone still wants to talk about it, and Ward had just about talked herself out on the topic.

"For me, mentally, I have to move on," the 27-year-old said Thursday after getting in nine holes at the Bay course at Marriott Seaview Resort in her final preparation for Friday's opening round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

"What happened was unfortunate," said Ward, who has won twice since joining the tour in 1996, but not since 1998. "I really don't spend that much time thinking about it. My fellow players have come up and congratulated me on a good week, and that's what needs to be focused on. What happened was out of my control and it's time to move on."

Ward called the penalty after noticing that her ball had moved ever so slightly.

What gave the movement away was the "Rule 35" stamped on the side of her ball. It's a logo Callaway has put on its balls with the intention of telling golfers that the 35th rule of the game is to have fun. Golf has 34 official rules, some with many subsections.

Most players use the stamp on the Callaway ball to line up putts. Ward did, but when she went to putt, the stamp was not facing the way she had placed it. The ball moved, so it was a penalty that eventually kept her out of a playoff with eventual winner Juli Inkster and Stefania Croce.

"There's not much of a story on that," Ward said. "Golf is a sport of integrity and honesty. We play by the rules, plain and simple."

Ward did and that's all that matters to her.

Her goal now is to continue playing well in this $1.1 million event in the shadow of the gaming resort of Atlantic City.

"I'm excited," said the Austin, Texas resident whose third-place finish last week was her best this season. "I'm hitting the ball well. I'm putting really well. We're off and prepared for another really good solid week."

Ward likes this bayside course which has yielded some low scores. The par-5s are reachable in two, provided the winds don't whip off the water and you keep the ball in the fairways.

Se Ri Pak won here last year, defeating Trish Johnson by two strokes.

Seven of the top 10 money-winners on tour are entered, but Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam -- the top two -- are skipping the event along with Meg Mallon.

Inkster, who is No. 3 on the earnings list with $641,057, has to be considered the favorite in the field of 144.

"Juli is going to be in contention any week she plays," said Ward, who has earned $139,004 in 15 events this year. "There are a solid 144 players out there who can win. I feel good about my game. I'm going to go at it as hard as anyone else."