Kerr wins LGPA Championship to snatch top ranking

ROCHESTER, New York - Cristie Kerr won the LPGA Championship by a record 12 shots on Sunday to become the first American to hold the world No. 1 spot in women’s golf.

Kerr captured her second major in three years with a staggering performance at the Locust Hill Country Club, giving her rivals no chance after starting the final day with an eight-stroke lead. The 32-year-old closed with a superb final round of six-under-par 66 to finish at an incredible 19-under-par and eclipse Betsy King’s 11-stroke winning margin in the 1992 LPGA Championship, the second of the four majors on the women’s golf calendar.

Kim Song-hee shot 69 to claim outright second at seven-under while her fellow Korean Shin Ji-yai carded a 71 to finish tied for third, a further two shots back, with Japan’s Ai Miyazato, who matched Kerr’s closing round of 66. Miyazato took over the No. 1 ranking last week but had to finish second behind Kerr to retain her place at the top of a tight rankings list.

Kerr, who won her only previous major at the 2007 U.S. Open, became just the fifth player to hold the top spot since official rankings were introduced in 2006.

Reuters