SYLVANIA, Ohio — Even though it had only been a little over a year since her victory in the U. Trent Cole Jersey .S. Womens Open, So Yeon Ryu was already feeling the pressure to win again. She lapped the field to end the drought Sunday. Ryu rode a string of six straight birdies in the middle of her round to a 9-under 62 and a seven-stroke victory in the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic. “This is just my turning point,” she said. “I want to win again.” Ryu began the day locked in a four-player logjam — all South Koreans — for first place. She took the lead by herself for the first time with an eight-foot birdie putt at the third hole and gradually stretched her advantage until pulling away with birdies on Nos. 9-14. “On hole No. 9, I made a really long putt and my confidence level went up,” she said. Still, a good friend had provided a cautionary tale. Yeon Jae Son, competing for South Korea in rhythmic gymnastics at the London Olympics, was in line to medal heading into the final day of competition. But, she told Ryu by phone, she had gotten ahead of herself and ended up missing out on a trip to the podium. Ryu took that to heart on the course. “It made me nervous because I really wanted to win. … She helped a lot,” Ryu said about the message imparted by her friend. “I didnt want to be thinking of winning. I was just thinking about my score.” Ryu ended up at 20-under 264 thanks to the lowest final round by a Farr winner — by three strokes. Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., closed with a 74 and tied for 42nd. She earned US$6,033. On the third hole, Ryu hit her approach from the light rough to eight feet over the flag and made the birdie putt to break free of the pack. She added a 12-footer for birdie at the par-4 fifth to double her lead. The lead could have grown even more; Ryu missed birdie putts of eight, six and 10 feet at Nos. 4, 6 and 7. Then, after I.K. Kim, who shot a 71 and ended up tied for fifth with Jennie Lee (67) at 11 under, narrowed her lead to a shot, Ryu rolled in a 30-footer from the front of the green at the ninth hole. From there she took control. None of her next five birdies were outside six feet as she dialed in her irons. “My ball-striking was great,” she said. For good measure, she birdied the last hole — a kick-in from two feet — to cap her round. Her 62 matched the fourth-best round in tournament history. Her 20-under total has been surpassed only by five-time Farr winner Se Ri Pak, considered the matriarch for a generation of young South Korean players on the LPGA Tour. Ryu had picked up the game in the second grade as part of her schools extracurricular activities. Shes also a gifted pianist. Not a member of the LPGA Tour at the time, she beat fellow countrywoman Hee Kyung Seo — her playing partner Sunday — to win the 2011 Open in a three-hole playoff. This season, Ryu has eight top 10s including a tie for second in Australia. Angela Stanford made a long birdie putt on the final hole for 66 to finish second at 13-under 271. As Ryu pulled away, she couldnt do much but watch. “When I looked at the leaderboard on 14, she was at 16 under at that point,” said Stanford, a native Texan. “I thought, Shes obviously having a great day. When you see that somebodys running away with it, you continue to chase them but if I cant catch her Id like to be second.” South Koreans Inbee Park and Chella Choi each shot 69 and shared third place at 12 under. The victory was worth $195,000 to Ryu, who is an LPGA rookie. Ryu was overjoyed — and relieved by the victory. “After winning a major tournament, everyone had really high expectations,” she said. “I had no wins after that, so some were disappointed for me. So I really wanted to win as soon as possible — and today I made it.” Walter Payton Jersey . Lampard will have a scan and be assessed by medics on Thursday before a decision is made about whether the Chelsea player can remain in the 23-man squad, which has already been submitted to UEFA. On Monday, central midfielder Gareth Barry was ruled out of the tournament because of a stomach injury and replaced by Phil Jagielka. Barry Sanders Jersey . Moore spent the last four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup and recorded 157 yards on 22 carries in 2011. His best year came in his first with Pittsburgh — 2008 — when he ran for 588 yards and five touchdowns. Marshawn Lynch Jersey . Kipnis hit a three-run homer and had a career-high four RBIs, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 7-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night. Alex Smith Jersey . If thats the case the Denver Nuggets hope to turn their Western Conference quarterfinals set with the Los Angeles Lakers into a best-of-three affair by holding serve in Game 4 at the Pepsi Center. Eli Manning Jersey . The Burnaby, B.C., native was elected the new president of the CSA on Saturday at its annual general meeting and said his vision is for a new culture within the sports national governing body.MONTREAL — No one knows better than Jenson Button that wild, crazy things can happen at the Canadian Grand Prix. The Englishman who won perhaps the zaniest of the 32 races held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since 1978 for McLaren Mercedes in the pouring rain last year is hoping to repeat that feat and get back into the Formula One drivers championship race at the same time. Button won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in March and placed second two races later in China, but since then has dropped to seventh in the standings as he failed to finish twice between a ninth place finish in Spain. Happily for the 32-year-old, hes still in the hunt as Formula One has been a wide open competition with six different winners in as many races so far. “I dont think anyones streaking ahead in the championship,” Button said Thursday. “Its been a very mixed bag in the first six races. “The last three havent been my finest weekends, so yes, I need to score some points this weekend to get it back on track. We all come here aiming for a victory, but as weve seen, just consistently being in the double figures in points (top five) is key to fighting at a front. “Im looking forward to the weekend. Ive had some special memories here.” This years hot topic is threats by protesters to disrupt Grand Prix events after weeks of demonstrations in the city that started with students opposed to a government plan to hike university tuition fees. Whether they will do anything to try to impede the race is unknown. Last year, it was a torrential downpour that forced a more-than two-hour delay in mid-race. It took four hours four minutes and 39 seconds to complete. Button started seventh on the grid and survived early contact as he bumped teammate Lewis Hamilton out of the race. He was given a stop-and-go penalty for speeding in pit lane which dropped him to last place. He made six stops, mostly for tire changes as the track got wetter or drier. And then he passed series leader Sebastien Vettels Red Bull in a thrilling final lap to claim the victory. “After any win, its a special feeling celebrating with your friends and family and the team, but that one was very different,” Button recalled. “I wouldnt say it was shock victory, but it was unexpected at many points during the race. “It really did mean a lot. The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins for many hours after. Ive watched it back. With 10 laps to go, youd think it was impossible that I won that Grand Prix.” The year before, Button had finished second as Hamilton won his second Canadian Grand Prix, so it is a track where the McLaren Mercedes has done well. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a different test from most F1 layouuts, with its long straightaways leading into slow chicanes and one hairpin. Chris Long Jersey. It punishes cars with high speeds and heavy braking. It can also be a slippery track, where crashes and other mishaps are common. Which cars will do best is anyones guess in this season of surprises. After Buttons win, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso won for Ferrari in Mayalsia, Mercedes AMG Petronas Nico Rosberg took China, Vettel won for Red Bull in Bahrain, Pastor Maldonado got a surprise victory for Williams in Spain and Red Bulls Mark Webber took Monaco two weeks ago. Alonso leads driver standings with 76 points, three more than Vettel and Webber. Hamilton is fourth with 63 despite not yet winning this year, while Rosberg is fifth with 59 and Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus is sixth with 51. Button has 45 points. “I dont think theres any top teams at the moment,” said Webber, whose squad has dominated the championship with Vettels two titles in the last two years. “Its very tight. “It looks quite sensitive to venue, to temperatures, to drivers. Its quite open and thats why were seeing different results, different podiums, different winners like we havent seen before. The teams that werent very good with the regulations last year, like Ferrari, Williams and Sauber, had a good step this year and came back very strong.” Red Bull still leads the constructors championship ahead of McLaren Mercedes, with Ferrari and Lotus tied for third. The possibility of a seventh different winner is strong. Hamilton has won pole position three times along with his two wins in Montreal and is hungry. Raikkonen, the 2005 winner, is also seeking a first victory for a Lotus team with Frenchman Romain Grosjean that finished second and third in Bahrain and third and fourth in Spain. And there is seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who has a record seven Canadian Grand Prix wins, although the last was in 2004. Or Sergio Perez of Mexico, who grabbed a surprise second place at Malaysia for Sauber. “Theres a chance for every driver to have a nice surprise,” said Perez. The Red Bull Renault cars have won 22 races over the last three seasons, but have never won in Montreal. Webber hopes to change that. He said the car didnt suit the track well until last year, when they placed second and third. “Seb was very close last year but lost concentration at the end and Jenson was there to capitalize,” the Australian driver said. “Judging by how the start of the season has gone theres every reason we can do well here. “We come here confident but not crazy on confidence. Renault hasnt won here since Fernando (Alonso in 2006), so its a bit of a scalp that would be nice to get.” ‘ ‘ ‘
Related
