South Korea's Oh Ji Young captured her second US LPGA tour title on Sunday, defeating Norwegian Suzann Pettersen by four shots at the two million-dollar Sybase Classic.

Oh carded a two-under par 70 for a 14-under total of 274. She claimed a 300,000-dollar first prize and added the title to the State Farm Classic crown she won last year.

The 20-year-old finished with a flourish, draining a seven-foot birdie putt at the final hole. She had parred seven straight holes after a bogey at 10 in difficult scoring conditions and was the only player in the last four groups to break par.

"Today I did everything so right," said Oh, who surpassed one million dollars in earnings on the LPGA tour.

Pettersen had a share of the lead through 11 holes, but dropped a shot after a poor drive at 12. A bogey-bogey finish then ended any hopes the Norwegian had of adding to her five career US titles. Pettersen finished with a 74 for 278.

"There were so many chances on the back nine. I need to make putts to win tournaments," Pettersen said.

Especially disappointing was a bogey at 17, where Pettersen lipped out a tap-in putt for par.

"Obviously that's a must-make to put some pressure on her," Pettersen said.

Americans Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer both shot 73 to finish tied for third on 280, one shot in front of South Korean Kim In-Kyung (70).

The 19-year-old Wie earned her third top-10 finish of the season, but never threatened Oh.

"It was just a struggle out there, but I grinded through it and learned a lot of things for next week," she said.

Creamer equalled her best finish of the year, but had just two birdies and three bogeys as the field contended with cold, uncomfortable weather.

"It felt like I shot six-over par, but I really shot one-over par," Creamer said. "Nobody did anything out there. It was just a battle of who could make more pars and eliminate the bogeys. It was really tough."

Three-time defending champion Lorena Ochoa closed with a 73 and ended tied for 19th place on 287.

Her inability to retain the title left Sweden's Annika Sorenstam and England's Laura Davies as the only players to win the same LPGA title at least four years in a row.

AFP

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