Pettersen beats Kerr in Sybase Match Play final

GLADSTONE, N.J. – Suzann Pettersen doesn't have to be satisfied with just playing well anymore.

Some 20 months after capturing an event in Canada, the 30-year-old Norwegian is a winner again.

Pettersen ended nearly two years of lingering frustration and near misses by beating Cristie Kerr 1-up to win the Sybase Match Play Championship on Sunday.

"It's 20 months, but it doesn't feel like 20 months," said Pettersen, who was doused with champagne by Swedish player Anna Nordqvist after winning. "It feels like a lot longer. But like I said yesterday, I had some great tournaments except winning, and I can finally put a dot over the 'i', and it's just the tip of the iceberg. It doesn't get much better than that."

Pettersen actually had an outstanding year in 2010. She played in 21 events and had 14 top-10 finishes in earning $1.56 million, her second-best year on tour.

Still, there is a line between playing well and winning, and players want the latter.

"It boils down to winning tournaments, so if you judge your season by winning, last year was a disappointment," Pettersen said. "But at the same time, I tried to take positives from that. It was a lot better than '09. (However), winning is what it's about."

Pettersen showed how much winning meant to her after she curled in a 15-foot birdie putt to win the title. A second after the ball disappeared into the hole on No. 18 at Hamilton Farm Golf Club, Pettersen thrust both hands skyward in celebration and seemed to exhale in relief.

Pettersen earned this title. She beat Natalie Gulbis, Amy Hung, Stacy Lewis, No. 1-ranked Yani Tseng, No. 5 Na Yeon Choi and the fourth-ranked Kerr for her seventh win on the LPGA Tour.

Pettersen, who overcame the flu in beating Gulbis on Thursday, had to work all the way to the end.

Leading 1-up and with Kerr facing a potential match-extending 10-foot birdie attempt on the par-5 18th, Pettersen rolled in her birdie to seal the victory on a cold, damp, overcast day that probably made her feel as if she was back home.

"It's a situation you want to be when you love the pressure," Pettersen said. "There's nothing better than winning a match play event."

Pettersen, who beat the top-seeded Choi 4 and 2 in the semifinals Sunday morning, never trailed in the final match for her first win since the Canadian Women's Open in September 2009.

Kerr, who won the final two holes to beat Angela Stanford 1-up in the semis, had her putter to blame for failing to win for the 15th time on tour. The American missed four putts of less than 10 feet — all for hole victories.

"Putting on the back nine killed me," Kerr said.

However, she also made a 3-foot par save on No. 16 to keep the match alive and a 10-footer for birdie on the next hole to cut Pettersen's lead to 1 up.

Pettersen ended the run and the match with her dramatic putt at the magical 18th hole. She played it four times and birdied it every time to win matches. She dispatched Gulbis in the first round, Lewis in the round of 16, Tseng in the quarterfinals and Kerri in the final.

Pettersen earned $375,000, and Kerr made $225,000.

Pettersen birdied the second and fourth holes to go 2 up, but Kerr tied the match with birdies at the fifth and eighth holes. Pettersen made a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 9 to take a 1-up lead.

The back nine of the championship match was both heartbreaking and ugly at times.

Kerr lipped out on a 10-footer for birdie at No. 10 and then the players halved the 11th and 12th holes with bogeys. Pettersen missed a 5-foot par-saver at the 11th to win the hole and Kerr did the same at the next hole from 4 feet.

Kerr had another chance to tie the match at No. 14, but her 10-foot birdie putt burned the cup.

"The putts that I missed, I hit bad putts," said Kerr, who said she was physically drained after playing six matches in four days, including four this weekend. "They weren't like mis-hits. They were shoves. They were pushed."

Pettersen went 2 up at the par-4 15th. Kerr was right with her second shot, chipped 10 feet past the hole and then missed the par save. Pettersen then extended the lead, making a 5-footer for par.

Kerr rallied but Pettersen would not be denied.

Choi shot 4 under to open a 5-up lead over Stanford in the consolation match en route to a 4-and-3 win that earned her $150,000. Stanford, who had to be disappointed after throwing away a great chance to be beat Kerr at No. 18 in the semifinal, settled for $112,500.

Kerr squared the match with a short birdie at No. 17, but her third at the final hole sucked off the front of the elevated green.

Stanford hit her third shot over the green and the mistake was compounded when it landed in a downhill line with mud under the ball. The No. 18 seed hit her fourth shot over the green and saw her chip hit off the pin.

Kerr then made a 5-foot par save to win the match.