KMAX: Sports

Webb hopes to build on strong performance

By JAYMES SONG
AP Sports Writer

WAILEA, Hawaii (AP) Karrie Webb got a jump on Annika Sorenstam in the first women's event of the year.

Webb beat Sorenstam, Laura Davies and Laura Diaz on Sunday in the LPGA Skins Game, taking 12 skins for an event-record $470,000.

``It means a lot to me because it's the start of the year and I played better than I hoped,'' the Australian star said. ``I really feel good about the swing I got going. As my year gets going and started, I feel like I should be in some sort of groove.''

The full LPGA Tour begins play March 13-16 with the Welch's/Fry's Championship in Tucson, Ariz., but Webb and many other top players are headed to Australia next month for the ANZ Ladies Masters and Australian Women's Open.

Webb swept the final 10 skins for her first victory in three Skins Game appearances. She picked up two skins worth $50,000 with an 8-foot birdie putt on the 518-yard seventh hole.

``Once you get that first skin under your belt, you start to relax a little bit,'' she said. ``As I kept winning skins, I actually started swinging a lot better.''

On an 80-degree day with barely any wind at Wailea Golf Club's Gold Course, Webb broke Davies' record of $340,000 set in 1996.

Webb sealed the victory on the par-3 16th, sinking a 12-foot putt that gave her four skins and $160,000.

Sorenstam, coming off the best LPGA Tour season in 38 years, finished second with three skins and $70,000. Diaz made $60,000 for her three skins, and Davies, the defending champion, was shut out.

Webb, the winner of 28 LPGA Tour events and six majors, said her play exceeded her expectations because she hasn't played tournament golf since the ADT Championship in November. She also hasn't practiced much this year.

``To win $470,000 against three great players, I never expected to come away with that much money,'' she said.

Three extra holes were needed for the final skin, worth $100,000. Webb took the big-money playoff skin from Sorenstam with a 3-foot putt on the par-4 17th. Sorenstam's 18-foot putt to halve the hole came up just short.

The event marked the return of the LPGA Skins Game, which was last played in 1998. Davies won that year with 10 skins worth $270,000 and Webb finished second.

Sorenstam, who won 11 tour events last year, had the lead with a birdie on the 140-yard eighth. Her 9-iron tee shot left her with a 5-foot putt for a skin worth $30,000. She led at the turn with $70,000, followed by Diaz with $60,000 and Webb with $50,000.

``I'm happy with the way I played, but in the Skins Game, you have to birdie the right hole at the right time,'' Sorenstam said. ``I made eight birdies in 20 holes, so that's great. But Karrie made them when they counted.''

Webb, a two-time tour winner last year, took a $100,000 advantage over Sorenstam with an 18-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 12 with $120,000 and four skins on the line.

Diaz got off to a quick start, collecting three skins worth $60,000 on the first five holes, but she couldn't maintain the momentum throughout the round.

Davies struggled with her tee shots, giving her few opportunities for easy birdies. The English star didn't finish Nos. 4 and 15 after driving into the trees and No. 14 when her approach found the water.

Davies said she also struggled with the Bermuda greens.

``It just wasn't meant to be,'' she said. ``The Skins is all about doing it at the right time and I didn't do it.''< ^Divots:@ The quartet has won a combined 147 LPGA Tour events, including 14 majors and $26.8 million. The four player also have accounted for the last eight player of the year awards. ... The event won't be televised until July 1-2. ... ConAgra Foods Inc. helped bring the tournament back with its sponsorship. ... The crowd of 2,000 thinned on the back nine as spectators left to watch the Super Bowl.

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