Associated Press
Sunday, July 16

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- It was a daunting shot even for the likes of Annika Sorenstam.

The ball was sitting in wet rough, 132 yards from the green and in the way was a big tree not planning to go anywhere soon. Add in that it was the last round of the LPGA Big Apple Classic and she and Rosie Jones were tied for the lead with one more hole to play.

	It wasn't always easy Sunday, but Annika Sorenstam came through when it counted.

To make it even tougher, Jones hit her second shot from the fairway about 20 feet from the pin.

"I saw the shot," Sorenstam said of what was facing her.

Then she choked down on a 7-iron and hit it.

The ball went under the tree, bounced on a slope in front of the green and rolled on, pin high and 15 feet away. After Jones just missed her putt, Sorenstam made hers, taking the lead for good Sunday and going on to her second straight victory and fifth of the year.

"Don't ask me to hit it again," Sorenstam said with a big smile.

The birdie on the 396-yard par-4 was just her second of the round, the other coming two holes earlier, and her 1-over-par 72 gave her a 54-hole total of 7-under 206 and a one-shot victory over Jones in the rain-shortened tournament at Wykagyl Country Club.

"I had the tree in front of me and the branches hanging down and it was wet," Sorenstam said. "I know I can hit that shot but getting exactly pin high you need a little luck and I had it there."

Jones also gave a good run at a birdie putt on the par-5 18th but missed and finished with a 72, her second runner-up finish in this event.

"It was a great shot," Jones said of Sorenstam's second on 17. "I was just happy to put a little pressure on her from where I was. She only had the one shot and she hit it under the tree and kept it on the green. I just had a feeling she was going to make that putt."

The victory gave Sorenstam one more victory than Karrie Webb this year and moved her past Webb and into the top spot on the money list.

Sorenstam, who started the final round one shot behind Allison Finney and one in front of Jones, struggled through an early stretch of three bogeys in five holes but never was more than three strokes off the lead.

"I just felt flat. I didn't have any energy. Maybe I was too calm," Sorenstam said.

Her first birdie Sunday came on the par-5 15th when she two-putted from about 30 feet and tied Jones for the lead at 6 under. Both parred the par-3 16th before Sorenstam came up with the great second shot to set up her second birdie, the one that gave her the lead.

"It's nice to have a one-shot lead going to 18," Sorenstam said. "It was perfect."

Sorenstam, who won the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic last week in a playoff over Rachel Hetherington, has 23 career wins, all since 1995. She won this event in 1998.

The first prize of $135,000 improved Sorenstam's total this year to $985,635. Webb, who had three 71s and finished out of the top 10 for just the second time this year, earned $10,279 and dropped to second with $963,742.

Finney, whose only tour win was in 1989, had a 75 and finished third at 5-under 208. She had four bogeys in a five-hole stretch starting at No. 7 but was still within one stroke of the leaders until Sorenstam's birdie at 17.

Beth Daniel and Ashli Bunch were both 5 under going to No. 16, but Daniel bogeyed the par-3 and Bunch double-bogeyed it.

Daniel, who won this tournament in 1994, closed with a 71 and finished at 209 along with Moira Dunn (68) and Jackie Gallagher-Smith (69).

Bunch had a 74 and was at 211.

Lorie Kane, who lost a five-hole playoff here last year to Sherri Steinhauer, closed with a 68 and was at 1-under 212.

Juli Inkster, who will defend her title at the U.S. Open next week, was at 215 after a 72, while Steinhauer also closed with a 72 and finished at 4-over 217.

The third round of the tournament sponsored by Japan Airlines was washed out when an inch-and-a-half of rain in a 1½-hour period early Saturday made the course unplayable.