Golf: Lee out of the rough after 11 years of trying

Richard Lee's maiden victory at the US$500,000 ($690,600) Thailand Open could not have come at a sweeter time.

The New Zealand professional has waited 11 years for his breakthrough title and he won it in dramatic fashion on the first playoff hole against Australian Scott Barr at Phuket yesterday.

Lee, 31, pocketed the US$78,750 ($108,770) winner's cheque after wayward shots from Barr left the Aucklander with two putts for victory and his first triumph on the Asian Tour.

Since turning professional in 1993, Lee, who is engaged to be married, has plied his career mostly on the Australasian and Asian Tours, until yesterday with minimal success.

"I wasn't really expecting to get the title," he said. "I've been playing a long time and it's nice to finally get a win."

Lee missed the cut in his past two tournaments, including last month's New Zealand Open.

His tournament before the Thailand Open left a particularly bad taste.

"Last week at the Myanmar Open I really hated the game. I played badly," said Lee, who missed the cut with rounds of 75 and 80.

"In the last nine holes of my second round here, I started to tinker with my swing and I found something. I also started to putt better and things just came into place.

"This opens many doors for me."

Lee began the final day at the Blue Canyon Country Club two shots adrift of Barr, but carded a two-under 70, which pulled him level with Barr on nine-under 279.

In the playoff Barr pulled his drive, which landed in a flower bed. Although he got a free drop he was in the rough, but Lee hit a perfect drive down the middle.

Lee then struck a superb iron shot to the green, while Barr overcooked his shot, leaving him an awkward downhill chip shot from the rough.

Barr was unable to control the chip, then failed to sink a difficult long putt from the edge of the green.

This left Lee with a comfortable two-putt for victory.

Lee, who beat Michael Campbell to win the 1992 New Zealand amateur title, was ranked 574th before the Thailand Open.

* Tiger Woods regained the world No 1 ranking after winning a gripping duel with Phil Mickelson to take a one-stroke victory in the Ford Championship yesterday.

Trailing Mickelson by two shots at the start of the last round, Woods mounted one of his patented charges to card a final round six-under 66 at Miami's Doral Resort for a 24-under 264 total.

The victory was Woods' second of the season and returned the 29-year-old American to the top of the rankings, ending Vijay Singh's 26-week reign.

Woods had held top spot for a record 264 consecutive weeks before being dethroned by the Fijian last September.

The triumph earned Woods US$990,000 ($1.37 million) and a high-performance sportscar that he said he would give to caddie Steve Williams, who is still recovering from injuries he suffered in a speedway accident at Tauranga in January.

"I just felt like I had to keep making birdies - pars just weren't going to get it done," said Woods, who broke the 72-hole tournament record of 265 held by Jim Furyk and Greg Norman.

"It's nice to come from behind like this."

The final round of the US$5.5 million event took on the feel of a heavyweight title bout as the two most popular players on the PGA Tour went toe-to-toe.

"It was great for him he won, but it sucks for me I lost," Mickelson said.

"I really thought I was going to win - I could have won, I should have won. I just hope I have another shot soon."

* New Zealand women have a great chance to avenge the humiliation of the cricketers when they meet Australia in the Tasman Cup at Titirangi today.

The Kiwis have not won the trophy for 10 years, but the format has changed to five-strong teams and retiring national coach Geoff Smart reckons the locals are the best-prepared outfit he has directed.

Penny Newbrook, at 21 the oldest, trumped the Aussies in the national strokeplay this time last year; 20-year-old Sarah Nicholson took the national matchplay in December; 17-year-old Jenny Park captured the Lake Macquarie title in Queensland; 16-year-old Natasha Krishna won the Greg Norman junior masters on the Gold Coast; and 14-year-old Sharon Ahn recently won the South Island under-23 title.

Smart, who guided New Zealand to ninth in the world amateur championships in Puerto Rico, is stepping down after the Tasman Cup. He is assisted by Marnie McGuire.

Nobody is underestimating the Australians, particularly after the Riversdale Cup in Victoria, where both teams competed last week. The New South Wales pair of Nikki Garrett and Sarah Kemp finished first and second and they bring impressive past form to Titirangi.

Their team-mates, Jody Fleming (Victoria), Bree Turnbull (Western Australia) and Emma Bennet (Victoria), are up-and-comers who have spent time at the Academy of Sport.

Titirangi will provide a good test for the matchplay event, with the four par-threes as good as any in the country.

Two foursomes and four singles will be played today and tomorrow. The lineups will be decided shortly before play begins at 9am.

- NZPA/Reuters