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Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:18 pm EDT

Best of Decade: The finest LPGA rounds

Can you believe we're at the end of the decade of the 2000s? It's true! And we never even figured out what to call this decade -- the "thousands?" the "aughts?" Whichever, we'll be spending the rest of the year running down the finest achievements in the world of golf over the last 10 years. Today: the finest individual LPGA rounds of the 2000s.

1: Annika Sorenstam's 59, 2001 Standard Register Classic, Moon Valley Country Club, second round. Sorenstam's legendary 59 was two strokes better than the previous LPGA Tour low of 61, shared by Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak. The round featred 13 birdies and no bogeys and only 25 putts. She reached every green in regulation and her longest par putt was less than four feet.

2: Sorenstam's 71, 2003 Bank of America Colonial, first round. The eagle-eyed will note that this is actually a PGA Tour event, and while Sorenstam's history-making round of one over par didn't end in a made cut, she performed brilliantly under the kind of pressure no woman golfer had ever encountered. The longer distances weren't an issue, but the missed opportunities on the green were. Nonetheless, it marked a large step forward for women's golf.

3: Juli Inkster's 66, 2002 U.S. Women's Open, final round. On the very same course on which she won the 1980 Women's Amateur, Prairie Dunes Golf Club in Kansas, Juli Inkster ran down and passed Sorenstam to take the title. At 42, Inkster became the second-oldest women's Open champion, after Babe Didrickson Zaharias. Her score tied an Open record for the lowest by a champion in the final round.

4: Michelle Wie's 66, 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship, third round. Say what you will about Michelle Wie, with her performance in the 2003 Kraft Nabisco Championship she became the youngest player in LPGA history ever to make a cut. Due to the 66 on Saturday, Wie made it to the final group on Sunday of a major. Wie was only, believe it or not, 13 years old. She shot a 74 on Sunday (not bad, considering the circumstances) to finish in a tie for ninth.

5: Lorena Ochoa's 62, 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship, first round. Ochoa, the 2003 LPGA rookie of the year, established the lowest-ever score in a major championship, male or female, and served notice that Sorenstam wasn't going to be on top forever. (Incidentally, Ochoa did not win the tournament. See next entry.)

6: Karrie Webb's 65, 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship, final round. In one of the most dramatic finishes of the decade, Webb holed out a 116-yard chip to force a playoff with Ochoa, and ended up posting a win that heralded a comeback in her storied career -- one that she celebrated with the leap into the water at right.

7: Meg Mallon's 65, 2004 U.S. Women's Open, final round. Mallon captured the 2004 Open by playing a masterful 65 to secure a two-stroke win. It was pretty impressive stuff for Mallon, who was 41 at the time and had also won the Open back in 1991.

8: Catriona Matthew's 67, 2009 Ricoh Women's British Open, second round. Just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Matthew notched a win over Karrie Webb and became the first player from Scotland to win an LPGA major.

9: Se Ri Pak's 69, 2006 LPGA Championship, final round. The South Korean Pak, a true pioneer in women's golf, secured her third LPGA Championship and her fifth major overall in a playoff victory over Webb.

10: Paula Creamer's 60, 2008 Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic, first round. Creamer, who would wind up winning the tournament, birdied nine of the last 11 holes in her opening round, including the final three, on the par-71 Highland Meadows layout.

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13 Comments

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  1. Go Chargers
    1. Posted by Go Chargers Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:11 pm EDT

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    If I was to pick one from your list it would be Annika Sorenstam's 59 and the only one of the 5 I remember seeing. Problem is that a great round can be in the eye of the beholder (most enjoyed by an individual) not just the score.
    I am hoping someone will come up with a fix for the LPGA before it is gone forever.
  2. Go Chargers
    2. Posted by Go Chargers Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:12 pm EDT

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    PS
    One of the top 5 rounds.
  3. sudha.murty
    3. Posted by sudha.murty Thu Oct 22, 2009 5:39 pm EDT

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    Very appropriate top 3 rankings. Rest of them are good.
  4. Justin
    4. Posted by Justin Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:02 pm EDT

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    Note to Busbee and/or his editor: a 116-yard shot, whether holed out or not, has never been and will never be considered a "chip" of any kind. A "pitch" perhaps, or a "wedge" of some sort, but never a chip. Did Doug Ferguson from the AP actually ghost-write this article? Those kinds of glaring errors are usually reserved for him.
  5. Dan the Obliviousman
    5. Posted by Dan the Obliviousman Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:32 pm EDT

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    Tough call here...They are all pretty impressive,but I would have to go with Paula's round of 60 at Highland Meadows.
    That is an accomplishment because that course is tough.
  6. Birdie74
    6. Posted by Birdie74 Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:52 pm EDT

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    I would say Ms. Sorenstam's 59 is by far and away the most spectacular. It is very rare and it is a round composed of not just "a" shot or even "a few shots" -- it is a round composed of 59 spectacular, breathtaking shots.
    While all the other choices listed above are "worthy" mentions, I do not believe they are quite in the league with a 59 -- not matter who shot it, ore where it was shot -- or severity of a course -- or harshness of conditions. a "59" is what it is -- A "59".
  7. sjanowski52
    7. Posted by sjanowski52 Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:42 pm EDT

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    I watched her shoot that 59. Live on the course. I was 11 years old, and I remember chasing her around after she had finished her round the next day to get her signature on the front of the Arizona Republic. Great time.
  8. BillK
    8. Posted by BillK Fri Oct 23, 2009 10:40 am EDT

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    I see someone is firmly entrenched up Michelle Wie's butt. How do you do that while up Tiger's butt also?
  9. Go Chargers
    9. Posted by Go Chargers Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:19 am EDT

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    Dang it Jay
    You are amazing, you talk about 9 women and it puts you up Michelle and Tigers butts.
    Tried to tell ya about being a Tiger lover/hater and a Michelle lover/hater all at the same time.
  10. Carlo
    10. Posted by Carlo Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:49 pm EDT

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    I can't understand why Creamer doesn't get the attention Wie does, at least she actually wins.
  11. Birdie74
    11. Posted by Birdie74 Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:13 pm EDT

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    I'm with "Carlo"!
  12. Go Chargers
    12. Posted by Go Chargers Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:50 pm EDT

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    #10
    It's because of the media hype which Creamer doesn't get.
  13. David G
    13. Posted by David G Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:50 pm EDT

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    why in the world is shooting a 71 a major step forward for women? Is the only way "women" can move forward by competing against men? Women need to measure themselves against men to gain stature? What is it?
    It's nothing but gender bias BS. Get over it. Sorenstam, at her best and at a tournament she handpicked for distance and her game, and against a weak men's field, couldn't make the cut. Women can't play with men in practically any sport. GET OVER IT!

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