Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Bo Bae Song earns first win in Japan

Bo Bae Song closed with a four-under 68 Sunday to cruise to a three-stroke win at the Mizuno Classic.

Song, who collected her first LPGA Tour title, finished the 54-hole event at 15-under-par 201.

Women's world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa rallied with an eight-under 64 Sunday to share second place at minus-12. She was joined there by Hee Young Park (68) and Brittany Lang (68).

Jiyai Shin, the 2008 champion, shared fifth place at 11-under-par 205 after closing with a three-under 69.

Song parred the first two holes and was briefly joined in the lead Rui Kitada. Song birdied the third at Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club to take the lead for good.

After three straight pars, Song converted a birdie effort on the seventh to push her lead to two strokes. Ochoa and Kitada moved within one, but Song birdied the 10th to move two up and no one would get any closer the rest of the way.

Song converted back-to-back birdie chances from the 12th to pull three clear, but she gave one stroke back on the 14th. With a two-stroke lead, Song parred the final four holes and Park dropped a late shot to give Song a three-stroke win.

Ochoa had a stellar round with eight birdies in a bogey-free 64. Park was five-under through 15, but bogeyed the last to cost herself solo second. Lang notched three birdies and a bogey on both nines to end at minus-12.

Shin was joined in fifth place at minus-11 by Mi Jeong Jeon (69), Inbee Park (69) and Yani Tseng (67). Kitada shot one-under 71 to end at 10-under-par 206. She ended alongside Momoko Ueda (70) and In-Kyung Kim (72).