Miracle Rally Completes the Sorenstam Slam

By PETER YOON

April 15, 2001 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Annika Sorenstam said it would take a miracle for her to win the Office Depot Hosted by Amy Alcott Saturday at Wilshire Country Club, but when Sorenstam is involved, miracles seem to follow closely.

Sorenstam erased a 10-stroke deficit against second-round leader Pat Hurst when she shot six-under-par 66 in the final round, then won the tournament by defeating Mi Hyun Kim in a one-hole playoff.

It was the largest comeback victory in LPGA Tour history, eclipsing the old record of eight strokes set by Muffin Spencer-Devlin in 1985.

Along the way, Sorenstam tied the tour mark for consecutive victories in scheduled events--four--and her $120,000 first-place check vaulted her past Betsy King as the tour’s all-time leading money winner.

Sorenstam, who already made history this year when she shot 59, becoming the first LPGA player to break 60, further cemented her place in the record book and ensured a place in history for a tournament that is almost certain to have a new venue next year.

“I needed a miracle and I got it,” Sorenstam said. “I just can’t believe it’s happening to me this year. I don’t know if I really deserve all this. It’s unbelievable.”

At the beginning of the day, it all seemed highly unlikely. Sorenstam commenced the final round at even par and with Hurst at 10 under. Liselotte Neumann, at seven under, was the only player within six shots of Hurst.

It took a monumental charge by Sorenstam and an equally colossal collapse by Hurst to put Sorenstam in the winner’s circle.

Sorenstam birdied three of the first six holes, then two of the first three on the back nine to get to five under. She rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 16, gave it back with a bogey at No. 17, then made a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to tie Kim, who shot a tournament-best 65 and had already posted at six-under 210. Kim, it should be said, made up even more ground than Sorenstam, starting the day 11 back at one over par.

Hurst, meanwhile, was giving shots away. The tournament ended Saturday to accommodate the club’s annual Easter egg hunt today, and there should be no shortage with the number of eggs Hurst laid on the back nine.

She made bogeys at Nos. 9, 10 and 11 and fell to eight under. She three-putted from seven feet for bogey at No. 16 and missed a three-footer for par at No. 17 to fall into a tie with Sorenstam and Kim.

A tee shot into the bunker at the par-three 18th led to a third consecutive bogey and a 77 for Hurst and kept her out of the playoff.

“It’s awful,” said Hurst, who in her LPGA career had never relinquished a lead she had held at the start of a final round. “Nobody wants this. When you are in the driver’s seat, you’ve got to take control and I didn’t.”

Sorenstam said she knew her chances of winning were slim, but that didn’t keep her from trying.

“You always hope there is a chance,” she said. “I needed to shoot a low score and I needed some help from the leaders. If they had stayed at par the whole day I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I needed them to come back and I needed to climb.”

She said the 10-shot comeback ranks equally with the 59 she shot March 16 at Phoenix, and it leaves everyone wondering what’s next.

History shows that Sorenstam, now tied with Mickey Wright and Kathy Whitworth with four consecutive victories in scheduled events, is a good bet to set a record this week in Sacramento.

She won there in 1997, and has not finished outside the top six in five tries. She can also equal the mark for consecutive victories; Nancy Lopez won five in a row in 1978.

The run at history is not lost on Sorenstam, who before this year had not won more than two consecutive tournaments.

“I think about those things,” she said. “But it’s just tough being out here winning tournaments, so I don’t want to build it up too much for myself because I won’t be able to handle the pressure.

“Two tournaments in a row was my record, so when you win three, you don’t really expect anything else. One part of me wants this to continue and another is like, ‘Wow, don’t ruin this.’ ”

Even if the streak ends this week, there are other records in sight. The tour mark for victories in a season is 13.

“It’s very possible,” said Sorenstam, who has won four of six this year. “I have a lot of tournaments left.”

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BIGGEST COMEBACKS

Most strokes made up by winner in LPGA Tour history:

10: ANNIKA SORENSTAM

2001 Office Depot

8: MUFFIN SPENCER-DEVLIN

1985 MasterCard International

7: BETSY KING

1986 Rail Charity Classic

7: NANCY SCRANTON