The golfer cruises to victory in the Kellogg-Keebler Classic.
By The Associated Press

AURORA, Ill. – The question was never whether Annika Sorenstam was going to win, but by how much.

Playing in her first LPGA Tour event since her historic rounds at the Colonial, Sorenstam breezed to a three-stroke victory in the Kellogg-Keebler Classic on Sunday.

Though she bogeyed her final two holes, she’d built up such a big lead it hardly mattered. She finished with a 1-under 71, giving her a 17-under 199 for the 54-hole tournament.

“Obviously I’m very, very pleased,” she said. “It’s been a great week, and to come back and perform the way I did is pretty much incredible.”

Mhairi McKay had four birdies on the back nine, but a triple-bogey on the front had all but ended her chances. McKay shot even par, finishing three strokes back at 14-under 202.

It was Sorenstam’s second victory of the year on the LPGA Tour – her 44th overall. Sorenstam earned $180,000 with the win, putting her back in first place on the money list with $734,501.

Though Sorenstam missed the cut at the Colonial, her grace under unbelievable pressure won her millions of fans worldwide. And many were out in force Sunday. More than 22,000 people came out for the final round – most just to see Sorenstam. They wore the now-familiar “Go Annika!” buttons, and followed her from hole to hole as if she was the Pied Piper.

As she walked up the fairway on the fourth hole, a group of kids on the balcony of one of the huge homes lining the course screamed, “We love you, Annika!” Sorenstam grinned and waved at them as the crowd laughed.

Even tournament volunteers got in on the lovefest. They followed her up the 18th fairway, a sea of red the backdrop for her victory. When she made her final putt, she skipped backward with a big grin on her face and tossed her ball into the crowd.

Sorenstam ran away with the inaugural Kellogg-Keebler Classic last year, winning by 11 strokes and matching the tour record for relation to par in a 54-hole event with a 21-under 195. She looked as if she was going to shatter that record Sunday, making birdies on her first two holes.

Counting the five she made to close her round Saturday, she had seven birdies in a row.

But then, just as she did Saturday, she ran into problems with her putter. On the par-3 No. 3, she landed about 10 feet above the hole with her tee shot, almost a certain gimme. But the ball slid by the edge of the cup, running a foot long.

On the par-4 No. 7, she misfired on her second shot and landed in some thick rough inches above a bunker next to the green. She got within 10 feet of the pin on her next shot, but her par putt was long by about 18 inches and she had her first bogey of the day.

It was the first time this week she had a bogey on the front nine.

She got to 19 under after chipping within two inches on the par-5 14th, but things got rough after that. She missed her birdie putt on the 15th, and three-putted for a bogey on the 17th.

She pushed her tee shot on the 18th into fescue off of the left side of the fairway, and took a stroke for an unplayable lie. She got back out into the fairway, only to misfire and land in a bunker on the left side of the green. She blasted out, waving as if to push the ball along, but it stopped about 18 feet short of the hole and she had to settle for another bogey.

Perry breezes

to another victory

DUBLIN, Ohio – Kenny Perry has gone unnoticed for 17 years on the PGA Tour.

Not anymore.

One week after a record-setting victory at the Colonial, Perry built another big lead Sunday at the Memorial. He ran out of gas at the end and closed with three straight bogeys, but still shot even-par 72 for a two-shot victory over Lee Janzen.

“This is the time of my life,” Perry said. “I’ve never played golf like this.”

It was the first time in his career that the 42-year-old Perry has won twice in the same year – back-to-back, no less, at two of the most prestigious stops on the PGA Tour.

He lapped the field at Hogan’s Alley.

He was just as dominant on the course Jack Nicklaus built.

“I’m sure glad Jack built this golf course because I love it here,” said Perry, who joined Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Hale Irwin as the only multiple winners at the Memorial.

Woods, a three-time winner at Muirfield Village, had four birdies and an eagle on the back nine and closed with a 7-under 65. He tied for fourth in his final tournament before the U.S. Open.

No one was going to catch Perry.

He pulled away with four birdies on the front nine to build a five-stroke lead, and Janzen never got any closer until Perry got sloppy.

After making only two bogeys over the first 66 holes, Perry finished with five bogeys and a birdie. He was just trying to get to the clubhouse and collect another trophy.

“About 13, it hit me,” Perry said. “I just got flat, started stroking it terrible. Thank goodness I had a lead, and Lee wasn’t making anything.”

Perry finished at 13-under 275 and earned $900,000 for the second straight week.

Janzen, winless since his second U.S. Open title at The Olympic Club in 1998, tried to make it interesting. He holed out from a bunker for the third time in two days, but still only managed a 72.

Poulter wins in Wales by three strokes

NEWPORT, Wales – Ian Poulter of England completed a start-to-finish victory in the Wales Open on Sunday, shooting a 2-under-par 70 to win by three strokes.

He had bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes but recovered with a par at the 17th and a birdie at the last. His total of 18-under 270 was the tournament’s best winning score in four years.

“I feel on top of the world right now,” said Poulter, who played all week with tonsillitis.

Jonathan Lomas of England (68), Darren Fichardt of South Africa (68) and Jarrod Moseley of Australia (69) shared second place.

Moseley, who set a course record of 63 on Saturday, had four birdies on the first 11 holes Sunday.

Ahern leads waltzes off with Music City crown

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Jim Ahern shot a 3-under 69 Sunday to complete a wire-to-wire win at the Champions Tour’s Music City Championship, only the third victory of his professional career.

He set the tournament record with a 196 over 54 holes, two strokes better than Isao Aoki in 1998 and Hale Irwin in 2000.

Ahern last won an event in 1999, the AT&T Canada Senior Open Championship during his rookie year. His other win was the 1973 Yuma Open, a satellite PGA Tour event. He only played on the PGA Tour between 1973 and 1975 where his biggest paycheck was $2,400 for tying for 13th at the 1975 Phoenix Open. The $210,000 he won Sunday for the first wire-to-wire win on the 50-and-over tour since Bruce Fleisher won the 2002 RJR Championship was the biggest paycheck of Ahern’s career.

Leading by six strokes at 17 under after Saturday, Ahern started the final round by barely missing an eagle for the second day in a row on the first hole when his 5-foot putt lipped out. He tapped in for birdie.