» Ladies Play Golf

Paula Creamer wins the SemGroup Championship at Broken Arrow - Texas

May 5th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

paula creamer wins the semgroup championship at broken arrow in texas

Paula Creamer said she erased the memory of her first LPGA playoff loss last week before she stepped off the plane in Tulsa on Tuesday afternoon, but a bogey on the 72nd hole of regulation at Cedar Ridge CC brought those memories flooding back in. It took the 21 year old Creamer two sudden-death playoff holes, but eventually she prevailed over good friend and U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Juli Inkster at the SemGroup Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons.

Creamer had a two-shot lead and was in the 18th fairway at Cedar Ridge when it all turned around. She hit 5-iron over the green and under the TV tower, chipping to 10 feet and missing the par putt. Inkster, a 47-year-old trying for the second time in Tulsa to become the LPGA Tour’s oldest champion, stuffed her 8-iron into 18 feet and watched it fall for birdie on the final turn.

“I think it made me upset,” she said. “I had so much to overcome from last week. There was no reason to be in a playoff.”

Creamer closed with a 1-over 72, the first time in her six career victories she won with a final round over par. She finished at 2-under 282 and earned $270,000.

Creamer won for the first time without her parents at the tournament, another small step in proving she can do it all by herself. She immediately called Nancy Lopez, her former Solheim Cup captain and mentor who was in Florida last week consoling Creamer.Inkster (72-73-67-70=282) walked onto the 18th hole Sunday down by two strokes, but she found herself in familiar position after draining an 18-footer for birdie, her third of the day, and watching Creamer bogey. Last year, Inkster lost in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff to Mi Hyun Kim.

“I’m encouraged by the way I’m playing, but I’m frustrated that I… just didn’t seem like me out there today,” said Inkster, who earned $166,426 on Sunday. “I just couldn’t get a feel for the putting.”

Final Scores:

1 Paula Creamer -2

2 Juli Inkster -2

3 Jeong Jang +2

3 Angela Stanford +2

5 Dorothy Delasin +3

5 Brittany Lang +3

5 Lorena Ochoa +3

8 Jemin Kang +4

9 Karin Koch +5

9 Jee Young Lee +5