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David Horsey shoots 5-under 67, wins BMW International Open

MUNICH — David Horsey of England birdied the 18th hole to win the BMW International Open by one stroke over countryman Ross Fisher on Sunday, shooting a 5-under 67 that earned him the biggest victory of his career.The 25-year-old former Walker Cup player earned 0,000 — easily the biggest payday of his two-year professional career. Horsey finished at 18 under after starting the day tied for fifth place.

BMW International Open Leaderboard

1. Horsey (-18)
2. Fisher (-17)
T-3. Larrazabal (-16)
T-3. Cabrera Bello (-16)
T-3. Cejka (-16)
T-3. Dredge (-16)
T-3. Ferrie (-16)

• Complete scores
Fisher had an eagle on the 18th to place second, and five players tied for third at 16 under: Alex Cejka of Germany, Pablo Larrazabal and Rafael Cabrero-Bello of Spain, Kenneth Ferrie of England and Bradley Dredge of Wales.Dredge took a three-shot lead into the final round and extended it to four after a birdie on No. 1. But his round collapsed when he dropped five shots in seven holes from the 10th, finishing with a 74.Horsey went into the 18th sharing the lead with Dredge, who was on the 16th at the time. The Welshman twice hit into a hazard for a double bogey, while Horsey laid up with his second shot on the par-5 last and then sank what turned out to be a winning birdie putt from 5 feet.”Although it was on a big screen by the green, I didn’t watch what was happening to Bradley,” Horsey said. “My caddy knew, but he didn’t tell me and I didn’t ask.”I was just trying to make birdie without having taken the risk of trying to hit the green in two from 250 yards out. I didn’t want to know what was happening because I did not want to put pressure on myself. That had been my policy all through the four rounds, to just try to relax and not make mistakes.”Horsey’s previous best finishes were second places at the Malaysian Open in 2009 and the recent BMW Italian Open.For Dredge, his failure to close out victory could prove costly. He was hoping to record his third career win and move closer to securing a Ryder Cup place on home soil at Celtic Manor in October.But having lost a four-shot advantage, he now possesses the unwanted record of failing to close out victory nine times in his career when leading going into the final day.At No. 39, Fisher was the highest-ranked player in the last three playing groups and had started his final round tied for second.His hopes of victory crashed when he ran up a double bogey at the fourth and he only managed to clinch second place with a closing 70 when he sank a putt for an eagle on the final green.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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Cristie Kerr shoots 6-under 66, takes five-stroke lead at LPGA Championship

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — As confident as Cristie Kerr is playing, the top-ranked American was left surprised with how she ran away from the pack in the second round of the LPGA Championship on Friday.

LPGA Championship Leaderboard

1. Kerr (-10)
T-2. Miyazato (-5)
T-2. Park (-5)
T-4. Lincicome (-4)
T-4. Yang (-4)

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“I played awesome today,” Kerr exclaimed. “I don’t think anybody expected anybody to be in double digits after two days. But you know what, keep my head down and keep going.”The 14-year tour veteran, and 13-time winner, is two rounds from claiming her second major title after shooting a 6-under 66 to take a five-stroke lead at 10-under on the Locust Hill Country Club course. The 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Champion opened the day in a three-way tie for the lead before taking control by scrambling out of trouble several times to produce a bogey-free round.She birdied four of her last five holes to pull away with the low score of the round.Inbee Park, the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champion, and Mika Miyazato were tied for second at 5-under after 70s. Brittany Lincicome (69) and Amy Yang (67) were 4-under in a field that has only 17 players at below par in the tour’s second major.Park was impressed by Kerr’s score but wasn’t prepared to concede anything just yet.”No, not at all. It’s still two days of golf left out there,” Park said. “Anything could happen on this golf course.”Much did happen to Kerr, and she managed to overcome it.Despite hitting only five of 14 fairways, Kerr muscled through the heavy rough that protects the narrow 6,506-yard course. That included a perfectly placed 135-yard shot she punched through a small opening between a pair of trees to bounce it on the green to save par on No. 16. She holed a 23-footer for birdie on No. 17 and then tapped on 18 for her final birdie in after hitting a 6-iron within a foot.”Weightlifting,” Kerr cracked, referring to playing out of the rough. “I ended up getting some pretty good lies, some not so good lies, but I managed. When you are in the rough, don’t try to be a hero.”She also credited the new putter she began using the before winning the State Farm Classic two weeks ago.”I’ve been searching for a a while,” Kerr said. “I’ve always been a good putter, but when I found a putter that feels right, I can make almost anything I look at. So I found it.”In two rounds, Kerr has made just one bogey while being particularly sharp on the back nine, which she has played a combined 8-under 66.The cut was at 4-over 148, knocking out several notables, including Se Ri Pak (10-over) and Pat Hurst (11-over).Sun and a light breeze made for good conditions a day after a heavy downpour briefly delayed play. With thunderstorms in the forecast for mid-Saturday, officials have taken efforts to ensure the third round will be completed.Start times have been pushed up 90 minutes to 7 a.m. And the groups will go off in threesomes rather than twosomes, while also going off both the No. 1 and 9 tees in a bid to complete the round by 2:30 p.m.Kerr is scheduled to tee off in the last group with Park and Miyazato at 9 a.m.Opening the week ranked fifth in the world, Kerr is proving serious about her objective in taking a run at top spot, which is currently held by Ai Miyazato — 3-over after rounds of 76 and 71.”I feel like I’m poised to do it,” she said. “I’ve won a lot of regular tournaments. It’s really time.”Jiyai Shin, the No. 2 player in the world, was 2-under after rounds of 72 and 70 in her first tournament since having an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago.Kerr also is eager to show that the U.S. contingent on the LPGA Tour can be competitive in the post-Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam era.”I think it’s very important,” she said, noting the cheers she’s getting from the large galleries at Locust Hill. “I can feel they want an American winner just in the way they’re cheering for me.”Lincicome, from Florida, agreed with Kerr, but with one exception.”It is important for Americans to win majors,” Lincicome said. “Hopefully, Cristie Kerr is not running away with it, so I can have a chance.”Lincicome got as low as 5-under for the tournament before a bogey-5 on No. 16. She then salvaged her round by sinking a 10-foot par putt on No. 18.Park produced four birdies and two bogeys to move into second. That’s an improvement a day after shooting a 69 despite carding four bogeys.”Only two bogeys, I think I can take that every day,” Inbee said.Mika Miyazato, who started on 10, was even for the round before scoring birdies on the par-3 fifth and par-5 eighth.”Today was all about keeping my patience and keeping my game steady,” Miyazato said.Juli Inkster (74) dropped to 1-over for the tournament, a day after shooting a 71 on her 50th birthday. Michelle Wie was 2-over, following an opening 72 with a 74.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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Justin Rose shoots 8-under 62 to take four-stroke lead at Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, Conn. — Justin Rose shot an 8-under 62, birdieing five consecutive back-nine holes for the second straight round, to take a four-stroke lead over Kevin Sutherland on Friday in the Travelers Championship.

Travelers Championship Leaderboard

1. Rose (-14)
2. Sutherland (-10)
T-3. Singh (-9)
T-3. Lunde (-9)
T-3. Pavin (-9)
T-3. Wi (-9)

• Scores
Rose, the Memorial winner three weeks ago who failed to qualify for the U.S. Open last week at Pebble Beach, broke the tournament record for the first 36 holes, finishing at 14-under 126. The 62 was one off the course record at TPC River Highlands.”Yesterday’s finish was amazing, ran five birdies in the last six and then again today, managed to get five in a row again,” said Rose, who started his second round on the 10th tee. “Birdied 10 of the 12 holes, so from just cruising, suddenly I went to the top of the leaderboard just like that and began to get a nice little lead there.”Sutherland shot his second straight 65. Vijay Singh (66), Corey Pavin (66), Bill Lunde (63) and Charlie Wi (67) were five strokes back at 9-under.After making 162 PGA Tour starts without winning, Rose broke through at the Memorial three weeks ago. This was his first start since.”I think I’m just on a nice streak,” Rose said. “I’m not getting in my way. I’m letting it happen. It’s nice to not field the question, ‘Can this be your first win?’ I must say. That helps. Having done that, that’s one question that it’s just something less that I have to think about.”Winning a tournament in its own right is difficult. So, when you have the added expectation of it trying to be your first, that can be harder sometimes,” he said.Sutherland won’t be complaining about consistency after his 65s.”I’m very pleased. I’ve hit the ball very well,” Sutherland said. “I’ve had 10 birdies for the two days and haven’t had a bogey yet. I’m playing real consistent, real solid.”Lunde eagled Nos. 13 and 15.”That’s something on this golf course,” said Lunde, who also started on the 10th tee. “On the back nine, you got some opportunities to make some eagles and make a lot of birdies. It’s nice to get off to a quick start, to get the momentum going early.”Singh birdied his first two holes.”It started off, and I thought, ‘Here we go. It’s going to be a good one,’ and then I didn’t take the opportunities on the front nine,” said Singh, who played only par golf over the next seven holes.Pavin’s birdie bid on the ninth hole, his last of the day, stopped a revolution short.”It’s all fine by me,” Pavin said. “I’ve been here a long time. I guess the ones who are still alive are still cheering for me.”All eight of Rose’s birdie putts were inside 11 feet. His putts on the 13th and 15th holes were tap-in birdies after a pair of chip shots.”Really, I felt under-prepared coming in here,” Rose said. “I got to tell you. Didn’t do a lot of practice. I’m doing a lot of things well. My feel’s really good.”For a while, I was chasing results because I knew I was playing well, instead of just letting it happen. So, it’s a very fine line out here. It’s very subtle, and I haven’t really changed much. Suddenly, my name’s up there, and you think, ‘Well, what’s different?’ But really, nothing is different. It’s just suddenly happening,” he said.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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