Annika Sorenstam is the veteran past-master who many believe has already passed the torch to her younger rivals. Adam Scott is the rising youngster who many believe cannot rise any higher.
Both players proved over the weekend that they are neither willing to go away nor set a limit to high they can go with thrilling play-off victories.
Swede Sorenstam was the dominant player on the LPGA Tour until Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa unseated her last year. However, she showed that she can still win at the highest level with a play-off triumph over youngster Paula Creamer at the LPGA Stanford International Pro-Am in Miami.
Scott blew a three-stroke lead at the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving Texas before sinking a 48-foot birdie on the third extra hole to beat Ryan Moore.
With top-ranked Ochoa taking a break this week, Sorenstam was able to steal the spotlight with her 71st career title and second of the season.
After an injury-ravaged 2007, Sorenstam has quietly gone about rebuilding her game while Ochoa takes the headlines, deservedly so given that she has won five of the six tournaments she has entered this season.
Overnight leader Sorenstam closed with a 70 to end on eight-under-par 275, tied with Creamer, who shot a final-round 69. The Swede parred the extra hole for victory and said in an AFP story that she is regaining top form.
“I’m excited at the way the season has started. Since the British Open, I’ve been top 10 I think every tournament except two. That is as consistent as when I was at my peak. I just had a few more victories. I feel good about my game. I would say it’s very, very close. I believe my injury is really healing and I’m starting to feel shots again, which is the feeling that disappeared a little bit when I didn’t have the control. Now I feel like I have control again and that’s what I want to take from this week.â€
Australia Scott, meanwhile, proved to himself that he has what it takes to win even when struggling.
He took a three-stroke lead into the final rout, lost it, then made a nine-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to force a play-off. After duelling with Moore for three more holes, he nailed a long one to claim his sixth PGA Tour triumph.
He moves to fifth place in the Official World Golf Rankings http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/home/default.sps after this win. He said in an AP article:
“In the end, I think (the statement) was to myself, I could actually win it when things weren’t going my way. But it wasn’t quite the statement I had in mind. I would have liked to have gone out there and have played like Ryan played and won by a few.â€
Scott finished with a 71 to total seven-under 273 while Moore closed with two-under 68. The duo finished four strokes ahead of Bart Bryant (72). One stroke further back were Nicholas Thompson (67), Mark Hensby (69) and Carl Pettersson (69) .
On the European Tour, Irishman Darren Clarke ended a three-year drought by winning the Asian Open in Shanghai.
Clarke screamed in delight as he drained a 30-foot putt on the final hole to beat Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen by one stroke at the Shanghai Pudong Golf Club.
The tournament is sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour. He said on the Asian Tour website:
“This one is very special. This is the toughest one of all of them and it’s nice to get back up to where I feel my golf should be. It’s nice to win again and it’s a really, really good feeling.â€
Clarke totalled 280 after his final round of 73. Australia’s two-time British Open champion and former world number one Greg Norman completed a fine tournament with a 71 to finish eight shots behind at 288.
