Golf: Paula Creamer wins LPGA's Samsung World
By JANIE McCAULEY
Associated Press Sports Writer
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Paula Creamer calmly won her biggest LPGA Tour victory yet, holding off a large pack in the Samsung World Championship.
Playing near her hometown of Pleasanton, the 22-year-old Creamer beat Song-Hee Kim by a stroke Sunday, 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.
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.
Kim finished with a 68 for her fifth top-five finish of the year.
Two-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa shot a 69 to tie for third at 7 under with Juli Inkster (68), Suzann Pettersen (68) and Angela Stanford (70).
After Kim moved into a share of the lead by chipping in for birdie on No. 14 — the first time all day Creamer wasn't alone out front — Creamer made a long birdie putt on 15 to retake control.