LAS VEGAS -- Wendy Ward was confident she would hit every
shot well, make every putt, and win the tournament.
Sporting a fresh, can-do mind-set, Ward won for the first time
in almost four years, holding off the charging Lorena Ochoa by two
strokes Saturday in the Takefuji Classic.
Ward said she firmly believed she was going to win, adding,
"That's a different attitude."
"Every player who comes out here says, 'My goal is to win each
week.' You can say that, but for me, I have to stand over every shot
I hit and believe that I can make it. That was the difference for
me."
The 31-year-old Ward has been consulting with sports
psychologist Debbie Crews. She told Crews she was trying as hard as
she could, and Crews said, "I want you to quit trying and start
believing."
She did.
Although Ward was nervous heading into the final round and spent
most of the previous night tossing, turning and clock-watching, she
was cool, collected -- and efficient -- over the final 18 holes of
the 54-hole event.
Leading wire-to-wire, she shot a bogey-free, 5-under 67 to
finish at 16 under.
Ochoa, the young Mexican star who began a dramatic comeback the
previous day with a 63 to vault from 96th into a tie for fourth,
kept the pressure on, shooting a 65.
"I did everything I could do and Wendy just had a great day,
she never went down. Every time I looked behind, she was close to
the pin and people were clapping," said Ochoa, who played in the
group in front of Ward's.
Holding a two-shot lead over Ochoa, who had just finished her
round, Ward smiled broadly after she knocked her wedge shot over
the water and within 12 feet of the pin on the final hole.
Still smiling, she tipped her cap to the applauding fans as she
walked to the green, where she two-putted for par, then hugged
practically everyone in sight -- including husband Nate Hair.
Ward had an opening 65 to tie Karrie Webb for the lead, and a
second-round 68 to move in front by herself.
Shi Hyun Ahn shot a 63 to finish tied for third at 13 under with
Paula Creamer, an 18-year-old tour rookie who had a 65.
Another teenager, amateur In-Bee Park, finished fifth. Park, a
16-year-old from South Korea who is a Las Vegas high school junior,
shot a 67 to finish at 12 under.
The tournament was only her second; she tied for eighth in the
same event last year.
"My goal was to finish better this year, and I'm very happy to
achieve my goal," Park said. "I really enjoyed myself. This is a
great opportunity."
Ward, the 31-year-old former Arizona State player who won the
1994 U.S. Women's Amateur, had five birdies and no bogeys on the
way to her fourth career victory and first since 2001 in New
Albany, Ohio.
She began the last day at The Las Vegas Country Club with a
three-shot lead over Webb and Moira Dunn, with Ochoa in a group
four shots off the pace.
Ochoa narrowed the gap to one shot when she birdied No. 11 to go
13 under. Ward, in the group behind, opened the lead back to two
strokes on No. 12, where she barely avoided trouble.
Her drive on the par-4, 372-yard hole strayed to the right, in
the rough near an out-of-bounds stake. Ward's husband, Nate Hair,
was walking down the side of the fairway and signaled her that the
ball was in bounds.
"Being lazy sometimes, I didn't want to walk all the way down
there and have to walk all the way back [to hit another ball], so I
was trying to wait for a signal," Ward said.
"He gave me the signal -- safe."
She recovered from there by pitching within 8 feet of the pin,
then rolled in the birdie putt to go to 15 under.
Dunn and Webb both dropped back in the pack, with Dunn (71)
tying for seventh, and Webb (73) tying for 16th.
Defending champion Cristie Kerr, never in contention this time,
shot a 72 to tie fir 55th at 1 under.
Annika Sorenstam, winner of her last five tournaments, skipped
the event.