Eun-Hee Ji aces 14th hole en route to Kia Classic victory
CARLSBAD, CALIF. » Eun-Hee Ji had a hole-in-one to dramatically finish off Cristie Kerr and the other challengers in the Kia Classic.
Her lead cut from four strokes to one, Ji aced the 156-yard 14th with a 7-iron, the ball bouncing and rolling into the hole, to push her advantage to three shots.
The 31-year-old South Korean player finished with a 5-under 67 at Aviara for a two-stroke victory over Kerr and Lizette Salas in the final event before the major ANA Inspiration next week at Mission Hills.
Ji finished at 16-under 272. She earned $270,000 and two Kia cars, a Sorento for the hole-in-one and a Stinger for the victory. She has four LPGA Tour victories, including the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS » Steve Stricker pulled away on the back nine at Fallen Oak to win the Rapiscan Systems Classic for his second straight PGA Tour Champions victory.
The 51-year-old Stricker closed with a 4-under 68, birdieing all four par-5 holes on the Tom Fazio-designed layout with big and fast greens. He finished at 11-under 205 for a three-stroke victory over Billy Andrade.
Stricker won the Cologuard Classic three weeks ago in Tucson, Arizona, for his first victory on the 50-and-over tour. He tied for 12th the following week in the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, opposite the senior event in California that Vijay Singh won for his first senior title.
Stricker played the front nine in 1 under, with birdies on the par-5 first and sixth and a bogey on the par-4 fourth. He birdied the par-4 10th, bogeyed the par-4 11th, and put away the tournament with consecutive birdies on the par-4 12th, par-5 13th and par-4 15th. PGA TOUR » Brice Garnett completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship for his first PGA Tour title.
Two strokes ahead after three late wind-blown bogeys Saturday, Garnett closed with a 2-under 70 in windy and rainy conditions for a four-stroke victory over Keith Mitchell.
The 34-year-old Garnett, a two-time winner last year on the Web.com Tour, finished at 18-under 270. He opened with a 63 and added rounds of 69 and 70.
Mitchell followed a thirdround 75 with a 67.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo dropped out Friday, finishing last in the 132-man field in his PGA Tour debut. He shot 7782 playing as an amateur on a sponsor exemption. WEB.COM TOUR » Julian Etulain of Argentina ran off three straight birdies to start the back nine and closed with a 4-under 67 to win the Chitimacha Louisiana Open for this first Web. com Tour victory.
Etulain, a runner-up at this event two years ago, closed with six straight pars for a two-shot victory over Taylor Moore, who birdied his last three holes for a 63.
Etulain finished at 19-under 265 and earned $99,000.
Justin Lower closed with a 64 and finished alone in third at Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club. OTHER TOURS » Lorenzo Gagli earned his first European Challenge Tour victory by closing with a 3-under 68 and beating Jens Fahrbring on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff in the Barclays Kenya Open . ... Yi Cao of China closed with a 9-under 63 and then beating William Harrold of England with a birdie on the first sudden-death playoff hole to win the Chongqing Championship on the PGA Tour Series-China. ... Phoebe Yao of Taiwan closed with a 6-under 66 and defeated Mamiko Higa in a playoff to win the AXA Ladies Golf Tournament on the Japan LPGA Tour . ... American Austin Smotherman won the Mexican Golf on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. He closed with a 5-under 65 for a four-stroke win.