LPGA Playoff Suspended With Daniel, Mochrie Tied

Beth Daniel and Dottie Mochrie battled for four extra holes Sunday before their sudden-death playoff for the LPGA Oldsmobile Classic championship was suspended because of darkness.

Daniel, playing for her first victory in more than 3 years, birdied the last hole of regulation. Mochrie, a second-year pro going for her first career victory, bogeyed No. 18 to finish with 72-hole totals of 9-under-par 279 on the par-72, 6,333-yard Stonebridge Golf and Country Club course.

The players returned to the 18th tee to start the playoff. Both made par 4 before moving on to holes 10, 11 and 12, where Daniel missed a 10-foot putt for birdie and Mochrie failed to make a 12-footer that would have ended the tournament.

“When I looked up from the putt (on 12), I thought I had made it,” said Daniel, a 14-time LPGA winner who hasn’t won an official event since 1985. “I don’t know if it hit a spike mark or what.”

Mochrie, who had a 2-shot lead before hitting her approach shot into the right bunker on the 18th hole, also thought her last putt would drop.

“I was kind of disappointed. It was so dark, though, that I couldn’t tell what happened,” she said.

The playoff will resume at 6 a.m. (PST) today. The winner will earn $45,000.

Daniel’s 6-foot putt for birdie on No. 18 enabled her to finish with a final-round 70 that featured 3 birdies on the back nine after she bogeyed No. 6.

Mochrie, who had a hole-in-one on her way to a 67 Saturday, shot 69 Sunday and was flawless with 4 birdies before she bogeyed No. 18.

Defending champion Nancy Lopez, who shared the third-round lead with Daniel, shot 71 to wind up 1 stroke behind Daniel and Mochrie at 8-under-par 280. She earned $20,250.