Recari outlasts Creamer to win Marathon Classic
Beatriz Recari defeats Paul Creamer by one stroke in what could be a prelude to next months Solheim Cup.
THE HEAD-TO-HEAD duel between Beatriz Recari and Paula Creamer in the final round of the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, yesterday, was great theater.
Don't be surprised if there's a sequel.
Recari rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole to take the lead for good and hung on to hold off Creamer for her third LPGA Tour title.
They started the day tied and spent most of the round trading the lead - as if it were match play. The duel in the heat in suburban Toledo might have been foreshadowing for when both players participate in next month's Solheim Cup at the Colorado Golf Club, Recari for the European side and Creamer for the United States.
"Back and forth, back and forth," Recari said of their showdown. "It totally felt like the Solheim Cup."
Recari and Creamer, who won the tournament then known as the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic 5 years ago, started the day tied for first, three shots ahead of their nearest pursuers. They traded the lead - never separated by more than one stroke - and were still even until Recari birdied the par-3 14th.
The 26-year-old Recari closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 17-under 267. She missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 17th, but made a clutch, 5-footer for par at the 18th.
Creamer, who was seeking her 10th career win and first since the 2010 U.S. Women's Open, closed with a 67 and finishd one stroke behind Recari.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff (66) shared third place at 13 under with Lexi Thompson, who shot a 67 and had a hole-in-one that won the 18-year-old a car.
In another tournament
* At Madison, Miss., Woody Austin won the Sanderson Farms Classic for his first PGA Tour victory since 2007, beating Cameron Beckman and Daniel Summerhays with an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff.
The 49-year-old Austin is the eighth oldest winner in PGA Tour history and the oldest since Fred Funk won at 50 in 2007.
Austin came into the final round two shots behind Summerhays and Nicholas Thompson, but made up ground with a 5- under 67 to finish at 20-under 268.