After a wild day at Wildfire Golf Club, the first RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup essentially came down to a chip-and-putt contest between Karrie Webb and Brittany Lincicome.And Webb won, getting up and down for par on the 18th to cap a 6-under 66 that left her at 12-under for the tournament.
Then she watched TV coverage as Lincicome chipped 10 feet past the hole from almost the same spot and missed the putt coming back that would have forced a playoff.
It was only Lincicome's second bogey in 54 holes at Wildfire, and it couldn't have come at a worse time.
"Chipping is something I've struggled with my whole entire life, so it doesn't surprise me that chip didn't work out too well," she said. "I hit a great putt. I thought that was going in - just a little more speed, and it would have held its line. It's golf, I guess."
It is a fickle game, and Lincicome flirted with trouble throughout her round of 2-under 70.
Angela Stanford, who took a 3-shot lead into the final round, struggled with her putter, 3-putting three greens en route to a 3-over 75 that left her at 9 under and in fifth.
Paula Creamer birdied seven holes in a 10-hole stretch, but like Webb and Lincicome, came up short on her approach at 18. She matched Webb's 66 but finished tied for second at 11 under. Cristie Kerr was fourth at 10 under after a 69.
For Webb, the victory not only continued a hot start to the 2011 season, but also her history of success in the Valley.
She won her second consecutive LPGA event, following up her victory at the HSBC Champions in Singapore and already has her first multiple-victory season on tour since 2006.
Webb also has won back-to-back events in Phoenix - sort of.
She was the last player to win an LPGA event in Phoenix when she captured the J Golf Phoenix International at Papago Park in 2009. There was no LPGA event in the Valley in 2010 when a sponsor couldn't be found. Webb also won 10 years earlier at Moon Valley Country Club in the Standard Register Ping.
"It's my third win here in Phoenix, I love coming out to the desert and I hope to be playing out here and have a tournament for many years to come out here," Webb said.
Webb, whose $200,000 share of the $1 million charity purse, said she will split the money between the Christopher Reeve Spinal Cord Injury and Paralysis Foundation and the Japan relief effort.
Half of the prize money will be directed to charities designated by the top 10 finishers, and organizations aiding Japan will get more than $198,000 of the $500,000.
The tournament also honored the tour's 13 founding players, and three - Marilynn Smith, Louise Suggs and Shirley Spork - were alongside the 18th green as Webb finished.
Suggs, her Florida neighbor and friend, gave her a swat on the rear and joked, "I taught you everything you know."
Said Webb: "It's such a great honor to win this tournament. The concept of this tournament has been great since it was announced. I don't think we celebrate enough our founders and where we come from.
"I couldn't be more honored to win an event, because I wouldn't have had the career that I've had and the life that I've had if it weren't for those 13 women.
"The only time I felt really nervous was on 17 and 18, especially that chip and putt on 18. I think it was more how special it would feel to win this event."
Evidently Suggs hasn't taught Webb everything, though. Webb won for the 38th time on the LPGA Tour, most among active players. Suggs won 58 times.
And Webb admitted she had no expectations of winning Sunday, starting the day 6 shots off the lead. She figured she had a chance when she got to the 11th tee and saw Golf Channel broadcaster Val Skinner and a cameraman standing nearby.
"I thought, 'What's she doing here?' I figured I must be close to the lead," Webb said.
