Eagle delivers LPGA Tour card to Hamilton’s Sharp

As she stood some 80 yards from the green on her 11th hole of the final day of qualifying school for the LPGA Tour, Hamilton’s Alena Sharp wasn’t sure what kind of shot to hit. She was lying two after a great drive and a tremendous poke with her seven- wood. She thought she should try a low shot to the green. Her caddy and best friend, Tara Bateman, argued for Sharp to hit her normal, high approach. Sharp had been “shaky and nervous” to start her round and struggled over the front nine. She knew she had to finish strongly to secure her dream of making it to the biggest tour in women’s golf. She decided to trust Bateman’s judgment.

“ I hit it about a couple feet past the pin and it just sucked back in for an eagle,” Sharp said in a telephone interview last night. “ Everyone was yelling. It was so cool. Tara gave me a high- five so hard it almost broke my hand.”

Sharp would bogey the next hole, but she finished with birdies on three of her last five holes to shoot 69, which put her at two over par for the tournament and in a tie for 16th. That enabled the 24- year- old to earn full- time privileges on the LPGA Tour. Kim Brozer of Red Deer, Alta., will have only partial status after afinal score of 10 over par. Angela Buzminski of Oshawa, Jennifer Greggain of Chilliwack, B. C., and Corina Kelepouris of Drayton Valley, Alta., all missed the cut in the qualifying tournament at Daytona Beach, Fla.

“ I don’t have words to describe how I feel,” said Sharp, a former Toronto Star

Women’s Amateur winner who turned pro two years ago and played this year on the Futures Tour.

Sharp plans to start her LPGA career at a tournament in February in Hawaii. Only the top 24 players earned full- time status for next year’s LPGA circuit.

Ai Miyazato, a 5- foot- 2 sensation from Japan, won the tournament with a record 12- shot victory. Miyazato, who was followed around the course by some 60 Japanese reporters and photographers, finished at 17 under par.

Also qualifying for the LPGA Tour were rising American stars Brittany Lang and 17- year- old sensation Morgan Pressel. PGA TOUR:

Canada’s Ian Leggatt has work to do if he wants to get his full PGA Tour card.

Leggatt shot three-under 69 yesterday to move up 10 spots after five rounds of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Orlando, Fla. But he heads into today’s final round tied for 42nd. The top 30 and ties earn their cards for the 2006 season.