GOLF
Creamer has a million reasons to win
But overnight hospital stay could cost her money title
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Paula Creamer has played well enough this week to have a chance of winning the LPGA Tour’s money title.
That is, if she can get out of the hospital Sunday morning.
Hours after becoming one of eight qualifiers for the final round of the ADT Championship and its $1 million first-place prize Saturday, Creamer — who has been sick since Wednesday night — was admitted to Bethedsa Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach because of severe abdominal distress.
She will stay there overnight, and “a decision as to whether or not she plays [Sunday’s] round will be made early [Sunday] morning,” said Jay Burton, the senior vice president of IMG, which represents Creamer.
Creamer will have a chance to be the first American to win the LPGA Tour’s season money crown in 15 years today at the ADT Championship at Trump International. All will start tied at par when they embark on an 18-hole shootout for the $1 million winner’s prize.
“Money title or not, I want to win this event,” Creamer said.
Earlier this week, she wasn’t even sure she’d play this event.
She began experiencing sharp stomach pains Wednesday night and they haven’t subsided much since. Creamer cut her usual 90-minute warm-up to a half-hour to conserve energy, hasn’t been able to eat solid food for three days except for nibbling on dry toast and bagels during her round Saturday.
At times during the third round, Creamer would hit a shot, then double over in pain for seconds.
“The best position for me is hunched over,” Creamer said. “I’m not a big complainer, but one more day — that’s what I keep telling myself.”
If Creamer wins the seasonending event (3 p. m., Ch. 2) that’ll probably be best remembered as Annika Sorenstam’s finale on the LPGA Tour, not only will she nudge Lorena Ochoa by $41,457 for the title, she’ll become the first
U. S.-born money champion since Betsy King in 1993.
Ochoa earned $8,000 this week, but didn’t qualify for the weekend rounds. A victory would push Creamer just over $2.8 million for 2008; King won $595,992 when she took the cash crown.
Creamer said she would see doctors Saturday night, but promised to be on the tee Sunday morning.
“If I was going to withdraw, it would have been earlier,” Creamer said.
Suzann Pettersen put together the best round Saturday with a 4-under 68, shaking off a triple-bogey at the par-4 fourth with almost flawless golf the rest of the way. Pettersen got back to even by the seventh, then ensured her spot in today’s field with four straight birdies on holes 13-16.
Considering she made two birdies in the first two rounds combined, an eight-birdie Saturday did wonders for her.
“I still think the best golf for me this week is ahead of me,” said Pettersen, who has no wins but three second-places in 2008.
Angela Stanford shot 69, one shot back of Pettersen, to earn her spot in today’s dash for the cash, which was displayed in a clear plastic box, with 10,000 bills — all $100s — neatly bundled. Creamer and Seon Hwa Lee shot 70, and Ji- Yai Shin and Jeong Jang were another shot back.
A three-way playoff decided the final two spots:Karrie Webb and Eun-Hee Jee advanced when Sun Young Yoo three-putted the par-3 17th.
Webb and Creamer are the only players to reach all three final rounds of the ADT since it adopted the eight-player, erase-the-previous-scores Sunday format in 2006. Neither has finished better than third.
Katherine Hull, the leader after the first and second rounds, started with four bogeys in her first six holes Saturday. If this was a normal week, she’d have been tied for fifth at that point.
Hull chipped in for birdie at the par-3 11th, but wound up shooting 79 after going 4 over on her final three holes.
Stiff winds made a tough course even harder. Karen Stupples putted four times for triple-bogey at the par-4 16th, then tossed her ball into the water out of frustration on her way to a 77 while Helen Alfredsson needed par on 18 to send her to Sunday. She made triple-bogey.
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