Shin wins ADT Championship

2008-11-25

Share this article:  Digg |  StumbleUpon |  del.icio.us |  Reddit

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Ticker) - Ji-Yai Shin capped a huge season Sunday, winning the ADT Championship.

It marked the second straight and third win of the season for Shin, who claimed the $1 million first prize. The Korean also won the British Open and Mizuno Classic this year.

“A really special year for me,” said Shin, who will become a full-time LPGA member in 2009.

Shin, who battled seven other players in the final round at the two-cut tournament, shot a 2-under-par 70 to win by one shot over Karrie Webb.

Shin put herself in early position to win the event with birdies at Nos. 2 and 3. She played both the front and back nine at 1-under.

At the par-4 16th hole, Shin reached 2-under with her fourth birdie.

A Hall of Famer, Webb went to the 18th needing an eagle to force a playoff but managed only a birdie to finish at 1-under.

“I gave myself a chance,” Webb said. “I just probably needed a couple more putts to go in. I’m just glad I made Ji-Yai think about it on the last hole.”

Paula Creamer, who was hospitalized for a stomach ailment, returned to the course and tied for third at 2-over along with Seon Hwa Lee.

“I gave it all I had,” said Creamer, who needed to take some medicine on the 13th hole Sunday in order to finish the round. “I tried as hard as I possibly could. I wasn’t going to quit.”

If Creamer would have won, she would have become the first American to finish atop the money list since Betsy King in 1993. Instead, world No. 1 Lorena Ochoa won the money crown.

Creamer was admitted to Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach on Saturday night after feeling abdominal pain for three days. After undergoing a CT scan, she was diagnosed with inflammation.