Castrale Beats Ochoa In Ginn Playoff

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) _ Nicole Castrale rarely does things the easy way. Her first LPGA Tour victory was no different. Castrale chased down the world's No. 1 player, beating Lorena Ochoa with a

Sunday, June 3rd 2007, 8:46 pm

By: News On 6

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) _ Nicole Castrale rarely does things the easy way. Her first LPGA Tour victory was no different. Castrale chased down the world's No. 1 player, beating Lorena Ochoa with a par on the first of a playoff Sunday in the Ginn Tribute.

``To beat Lorena, yeah, the odds weren't on my side, for sure,'' Castrale said.

Castrale was six shots behind Ochoa with six holes left in Saturday's third round _ and two behind with two to play. But never did the former University of Southern California star think her breakthrough was out of reach.

When Castrale's group was stopped while officials squeegeed the 13th green, she looked up to see Ochoa at 14 under, six in front.

``I thought, 'Man, Lorena's playing great,''' Castrale said. ``Never did I think I can't catch her. I knew I was playing well too.''

Castrale showed that Sunday.

Castrale closed with a 1-under 71 to match Ochoa (74) at 9-under 279 on the RiverTowne Country Club course, then calmly made par after Ochoa drove her ball left in a marsh on the extra hole.

Castrale earned $390,000.

Ochoa was up by six shots Saturday and was still ahead by two shots with three holes to play Sunday. However, bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes dropped the Mexican star into a tie and a wayward tee shot into a marsh on the playoff hole, the 18th, cost her a chance at the title.

Castrale, who watched Ochoa's bad drive, kept it simple and straight on the final hole. She two-putted from 25 feet for par, then waited until Ochoa's 18-foot try to extend the playoff slide left.

Castrale put her hand over her mouth then hugged her caddie, husband Craig, and Ochoa.

``I don't know what happened'' on her final drive, Ochoa said. ``I think I just got a little bit fast.''

Castrale had never done better than a tie for third in last season's Honda LPGA Thailand event.

Things haven't always gone smoothly for Castrale. He was involved in a car accident as a USC senior, ultimately needing two shoulder surgeries. After playing just 20 LPGA events from 2002-05, Castrale played full-time a season ago, finishing 33rd on the money list.

She was 18th coming in this week, a solid if not spectacular year. Then Castrale nearly did the unthinkable _ going birdie-birdie on the final two holes and beating the world's No. 1 player.

She made a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. Moments later, when Ochoa's 8-foot par try spun off the cup, the two were tied for the lead.

Castrale drove into thick rough on the 18th, yet put her approach 22 feet away. The putt that would've won her the title, though, came up 2 feet short.

Ochoa, coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Sybase Classic, needed her own par-saving putt from about 4 feet to force the playoff.

The loss dropped Ochoa to 0-4 in playoffs. She said such moments like this teach her something she can't always get in victory. ``I need to learn to win in the tough ones. For sure I need to improve my playoff percentages,'' she said, laughing.

Castrale credited her husband's even-keel demeanor on the course with keeping her on track. ``Sometimes it frustrates me,'' she said, grinning. ``I think luckily that wore off on me. I never felt panicked'' this week.

The swirling wind caused problems all round, players continually backing out of their stances to wait for the gusts to calm.

The final group finished play in just under six hours and NBC Sports couldn't stay with the playoff, switching coverage to the Golf Channel.

Cristie Kerr closed with a 73 to finish third at 6 under, and Paula Creamer (71) and Sarah Lee (71) tied for fourth at 5 under.

Ochoa looked to have this one wrapped up several times. But, like on Saturday when she saw her six-shot lead cut in half by three late bogeys, Ochoa faltered down the stretch.

Ochoa appeared to take control, her 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th putting her up by two.

For a second straight round, tournament officials altered the starting times to deal with the effects of tropical depression Barry. While players Saturday dealt with drenching rain, Sunday brought wind gusts close to 20 mph.

The competitors continually backed off shots to wait for the wind to calm. No one shot lower than Christina Kim's 70 on the par-72 layout.

Annika Sorenstam, the tournament's host, struggled to her highest round of the week, 4-over 76, and tied for 36th. She hadn't played in two months as she recovered from a ruptured disk and bulging disk.

``I'm trying to get into the swing of things and trying to stay very patient,'' she said. ``It's going to take me four or five tournaments to be ready.''

Sorenstam will continue her comeback at the McDonald's LPGA next week.

Divots: In-Bee Park was disqualified after Saturday's third round for signing an incorrect scorecard. ... Angela Stanford pushed her approach to the fifth green into the gallery. As she left after her par, Stanford told the crowd, smiling, ``Sorry about that.'' ... Tour veteran Kelly Robbins shot an 18-over 90.