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Blumenherst wins U.S. Women’s Amateur title

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Duke star Amanda Blumenherst won the U.S. Women’s Amateur, rallying to beat NCAA Division I champion Azahara Munoz, 2 and 1, in the 36-hole final Sunday at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

Blumenherst, the three-time national college player of the year, was one down after the morning 18 and still a hole behind through 27.

She squared it with a birdie on the par-four 10th, took the lead with a par on the par-five 13th and pulled two holes in front with a birdie on the par-five 16th. Both players made par on 17 to end the match.

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Blumenherst, a two-time Curtis Cup player, won the tournament a year after a 1-up loss to Maria Uribe in the final at Crooked Stick in Indiana. Munoz, the Arizona State star from Spain, was trying to become the first player to win the NCAA and Women’s Amateur in the same season since Georgia’s Vicki Goetze in 1992.

Amy Yang spoiled Annika Sorenstam’s finale on home turf, tying the course record with a nine-under-par 63 for a six-shot victory at the Scandinavian TPC in Stockholm.

Sorenstam eagled the par-four 17th to move into second place. But the Hall of Famer took a double-bogey on the last hole, hitting her tee shot into the water and three-putting.

Sorenstam, the tournament host, shot 72 and finished seven strokes back to tie for sixth.

The 19-year-old Yang posted her second win as a professional in the rain-shortened 54-hole tournament with a 14-under 202 total.

Minea Blomqvist set the course record (63) earlier in the day. She shared second with Melodie Bourdy (66), Lill Saether (73) and Maria Hjorth (72).

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TENNIS

Mahut wins Legg Mason opener

Nicolas Mahut defeated Wayne Odesnik, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the opening match of the Legg Mason Classic at Washington.

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Mahut had 17 aces, including one in the final game that helped him rally from 0-30. He will play the winner of today’s match between fourth-seeded Tommy Haas and qualifier Rik De Voest.

The pairing of two unseeded players was the only main-draw match on the opening day of the tournament, a warmup for the U.S. Open.

The field is headed by top-seeded Andy Roddick, who decided to skip the Olympics to focus on the U.S. Open.

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BASEBALL

L.A. team advances to RBI finals

The Los Angeles section of Major League Baseball’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program (RBI) will play in the finals of the organization’s tournament today at 12:30 at Angel Stadium.

The team, nicknamed the Dodgers, defeated defending champion Philadelphia, 5-0, and Miami, 9-1, to advance to the final.

Cameron Hart, who plays for Crenshaw High, had three hits, including a three-run double, in the semifinals against Miami.

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-- Chris Hine

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