Golf

Mizuno belongs to Annika again

OTSU, Japan - Annika Sorenstam realized she might not get another chance to make history at the Mizuno Classic. Like so many other times, she came through with her best golf.

Sorenstam birdied four of the last five holes Sunday and closed with 8-under 64 in a steady drizzle, winning by three shots to become the first player in LPGA Tour history to win the same tournament five straight times.

"I had the chance to do something today that nobody else has done, so of course I felt some pressure all week," Sorenstam said. "That is what motivates me. That is why I play this game. To come here and do something like this, it's just very gratifying."

No one on the PGA Tour has won a tournament five straight times. Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen have won the same event four straight times. On the women's tour, Laura Davies won the Standard Register Ping in Arizona from 1994-97.

Sorenstam, 35, finished at 21-under 195 in the field that included 35 players from the Japan LPGA Tour and earned $150,000, pushing her season total to more than $2.3-million.

Jennifer Rosales closed with 66 to finish second. Young Kim of South Korea, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, shot 70 and tied for third at 16-under 200 with Yuri Fudoh and Sophie Gustafson, who earned enough to move into the top 30 on the money list. The top 30 after this week's Tournament of Champions in Mobile, Ala., which Sorenstam is skipping, are eligible for the ADT Championship Nov. 17 in West Palm Beach.

After the second round Saturday, Kim boldly predicted that 6 under in the final round would be enough to secure her first tour victory. When that was mentioned to Sorenstam, she arched her brow as if to say, "Oh, really?"

"I love the challenge and I love coming down the stretch and making the shots you need to," Sorenstam said. "It's just the extra excitement, knowing there are just a few holes left and having to hit the perfect shot. That's when all my adrenaline starts kicking in, on the back nine, because that's when it matters."

PGA: Heath Slocum shot 6-under 66 for a two-stroke victory at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Miss. With his father, former Mississippi club pro Jack Slocum, as his caddie, Slocum finished at 21-under 267. He and Loren Roberts were tied at 20 under entering the 17th hole. After knocking his second shot 9 feet from the pin, Slocum birdied the par-4, 413-yard hole. Roberts had bogey after hitting his drive into the water to fall two back. Joey Snyder, a rookie who led after three rounds, shot 70-270.

[Last modified November 7, 2005, 01:10:19]