Sorenstam Wins Open, and It’s Worth the Wait

Two putts and a few short steps from victory, Annika Sorenstam paused on her walk up the 18th fairway.

For 30 seconds, she waited for Pat Hurst to catch up to her. She grabbed her hand warmly, squeezed it hard, and the two walked onto the green together, basking in the roar from the thousands around it.

It was a gracious act by the U.S. Women’s Open champion. Mike McGee, who watched from the fringe of the green, said he wasn’t surprised.

“Annika is a far better person than she is a golfer,” said Sorenstam’s new boyfriend.

Off her performance at Newport Country Club, that’s almost hard to believe. Perhaps the Swede’s only disappointment in the tournament is that she didn’t end it Sunday at the 72nd hole, where her 22-foot birdie putt hit the edge of the cup and stayed out.

“She’s a class act,” Hurst said. “To wait for me really made it special for the two of us. Right there, it tells you what she’s like.”

Sorenstam didn’t think twice about it.

“I thought that was the appropriate thing to do,” she said after shooting one-under-par 70 to beat Hurst by four strokes and end a 10-year wait for her third Open title. It’s her 10th major, five behind the women’s record held by Patty Berg.

“Pat had a terrific week, and I wanted her to share this with me,” Sorenstam said. “We walked up 18, and she said, ‘I’m getting goose bumps.’ I said, ‘I agree. This is really cool,’ and we both smiled.”

Sorenstam set the tone early in the playoff. After Hurst missed an eight-foot par putt on the first hole, Sorenstam made her six-footer for birdie.

Hurst missed a three-foot birdie putt on the second hole, then Sorenstam sank an eight-footer for another birdie at the third.

The match seemed all but over -- after 30 minutes. They had played three holes, and Hurst was already down three strokes.

“That was tough, making a bogey on the first hole,” Hurst said. “Three-putting it, and the confidence obviously went down a little. With Annika making birdie and getting two shots right there, it makes it tough.”

The saving grace for Hurst was the pace of play was quick. It took only 3 1/4 hours to play 18 holes.

“The round didn’t feel as fast as I wanted it to feel after being three shots down,” said Hurst, drawing laughter.

Hurst failed to make a putt longer than three feet until a 45-footer from the fringe dropped on the final hole -- her only birdie of the day. Hurst even missed an 18-inch putt that would have saved her a bogey on No. 6. The double bogey left her four behind, and the crowd of 4,655 -- making it 89,899 for the week -- sensed the end was near.

“When I missed that short one, that kind of set me back a little bit more,” Hurst said. “I think that kind of was the turning point right there.

“[But] I never have a point where I’m going to say that I can’t do this. When that point comes, that’s when it’s time to just walk off the golf course.”

Hurst also missed an eight-foot par putt on No. 9, and birdie attempts of eight feet on 12 and seven feet on 15.

“I told my caddie it’s a little disappointing, and he said, ‘You should just be proud of yourself.’ I said, ‘I am.’ ”

The only unfinished business as the women walked together onto the 18th green was the favor Hurst would ask of Sorenstam.

“I said, ‘If anything, I want a signed ball from you,’ ” Hurst said. “Just like everybody else, they want a signed ball. So do I.”

Sorenstam said she’d oblige.

“Of course I’m going to give her one,” Sorenstam said. “But I said, ‘You can ask for anything any time. You don’t have to wait until the 18th hole of the U.S. Open.’ ”