Firing a 1-under 71, Carin Koch proclaimed victory at the second tournament held in Mexico this year. This is the second LPGA Tour win for Carin Koch, the 34-year-old “Mom from Sweden”, with her first victory coming at the 2001 Corning Classic. Although the day started with a showdown between Koch and veteran Wendy Ward, it was first and second round leader Koch who took the lead from Ward on the par-3 third hole dropping a birdie from 10 feet. Although Koch bogeyed the fourth, she regained her composure and birdied six and seven to grab the lead, charge forward and not look back.
Ward battled back with a birdie on the par-3 6th, but gave it back with a bogey on the 8th. Although Koch dropped back into a tie with Ward after bogeying the 10th and 11th, last week’s winner of the Takefuji Classic could not step up and grab control from Koch. Carin showed her stripes on the par-5 15th with a birdie, waiting for Wendy to respond. Ward could not compete with the Swede, hitting a hazard shot off the tee at 16 and then three-putting for a triple-bogey eight. After a long, stressful round, Ward finished with a 6-over 78 to tie for third with Catriona Matthew.
Matthew’s safe round today was a snoozer as she wound up with even par. You just can’t win a tournament that way while the leaders battle it out hungily for the win.
Karine Icher (70), from France, did not have a terrific day herself, bogeying 3, 4 and 18 and double-bogeying number 10. But, with six birdies today, it was enough for her to rise to solo second place.
Natalie Gulbis could not find the win deep inside of her but came up with a top five finish anyway. Her 4th round was far from spectacular with only 3 birdies, an equal number of bogeys and a disastrous double-bogey on the 14th. Gulbis shared fifth place with Dorothy Delasin and Soo Young Moon.
Mexican attraction Lorena Ochoa, a two-time winner last year on tour, could not make a dent in the pack. Ochoa came in with a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 16th. Paula Creamer (74), slipping throughout the four day tournament, finished in a tie with Ochoa and 6 other players.
Pos Player Today Tot R1 R2 R3 R4 1 Carin Koch -1 -9 68 69 71 71 2 Karine Icher -2 -3 73 72 70 70 T3 Catriona Matthew E -2 73 71 70 72 T3 Wendy Ward +6 -2 71 69 68 78 T5 Dorothy Delasin -2 -1 71 78 68 70 T5 Soo Young Moon -2 -1 72 73 72 70 T5 Natalie Gulbis +2 -1 66 75 72 74 T8 Gloria Park E E 75 70 71 72 T8 Tina Barrett E E 70 75 71 72 10 Charlotta Sorenstam E +1 71 72 74 72
Photo Credit: © SI.com.