Taiwan Today

Taiwanese golfer Yani Tseng won the Kraft Nabisco Championship April 5, the first major golf tournament of the year held by the Ladies Professional Golf Association. With a four-under-par 68 performance during the final round, Tseng finished at 13-under 275 for a one-stroke victory over Suzann Petterson. “I played well at times and not so good at others. Last time I won an LPGA championship, it was completely unexpected. This time, I really wanted to win and was feeling nervous, especially at night,” Tseng told a reporter over the phone. “I have learned how to relax now. Over the last three years I’ve made a lot of progress when it comes to the mental aspects of the game,” she said. With the championship comes US$300,000 in prize money. Tseng has now won US$460,932 this year, more so than any other player on the LPGA tour, and the first time in her career that Tseng has been the leading money-winner on the professional circuit. By tradition, the winner of the Kraft Nabisco Championship leaps into the pond surrounding the 18th hole at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. Tseng confessed that for years she has fantasized what the experience would be like. On Sunday, as it became clear that Tseng would be the winner, she was literally getting ready for the plunge. “I told my caddie, ‘I don’t know how to swim, so make sure you pull me up!’” Unlike other past winners, Tseng did not jump in with her caddie. Instead, she was accompanied by her mother and a few close friends. For the last day of the tournament, Tseng was paired with Karen Stupples, the winner of the first three rounds, and her friend Suzann Petterson from Norway. Not long after the final round began, Tseng surged ahead. She used a chip-in eagle on the 521-yard second hole to jump start the round. And after an eagle on the third hole, she had not only caught up with Stupples, but also surpassed her. She would never relinquish the lead. (HZW)