Kung wins her 1st LPGA tournament

LAS VEGAS -- Annika Sorenstam would have liked one more round. The way she played on the back nine, a few more holes might have been enough.

For Candie Kung, though, the Takefuji Classic ended at just the right time.

Kung bogeyed the final hole Saturday, but still won her first LPGA tournament by two shots over a charging Sorenstam and two others with a closing round of 2-under 70.

Sorenstam shot her second straight 67, a score that left her wishing the tournament was 72 holes instead of 54.

"I've always been in favor of four-day (tournaments)," Sorenstam said. "But I knew it was 54 holes going into the tournament."

Kung had a three-shot lead going into the final hole, where in the first two days of the tournament she had made double bogey and bogey. This time, she three-putted but it didn't matter.

"This is great, that's all I can say about it," the 21-year-old said. "It's awesome."

Kung, who finished at 12-under, thought she might have the lead on the final hole but she wasn't sure. She avoided looking at leaderboards until she was on the 18th green.

Still, she was nervous, drinking a bottle of water a hole on the last few holes while trying to keep her mind off of what she was doing. As she walked up the 18th hole, Kung and her caddie talked about how many rooms the adjoining Las Vegas Hilton hotel might have.

"I didn't know how many shots I was leading by," she said. "I thought it might be one or two. I didn't look at the leaderboard at all."

Kung double bogeyed the hole in the first round and bogeyed her final hole after shanking a shot in the second round. But Saturday, the 4-footer she missed for par meant only that her winning margin was smaller.

Sorenstam rallied on the back nine with three straight birdies and closed with a birdie on the 18th hole. But, after being six shots out in the opening round, she never threatened to take the lead in the 54-hole event.

"I've been playing catch-up the last two rounds," Sorenstam said. "I'm very pleased with the way I played the last two days. I had a chance at the end."

It wasn't much of a chance, though, because Kung made three birdies in four holes beginning at the par-5 ninth to take a lead she never relinquished.

MCI Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Stewart Cink shot a 69 and showed some new confidence Saturday, surviving an up-and-down third round to hold the lead at the MCI Heritage.

Cink, the 2000 champion at Harbour Town Golf Links, talked Friday about how fears of growing success and potential failure plagued his golf game the past two years. And when Cink's one-shot lead at the start became a three-stroke deficit over the first seven holes, it looked like some of those old worries had showed up again.

But like he has most of the season, Cink picked up his game and moved back into the lead. He stood at 12-under 201, a stroke ahead of Jeff Sluman, who had the day's best round of 64.

"I'm playing with a lot of peace and confidence," Cink said. "It's a lot more fun to play this way."

Woody Austin (65) and Kenny Perry (67) were at 10-under. Four-time MCI Heritage champion Davis Love III (69), Hal Sutton (71), Steve Flesch (67) and Chad Campbell (70) were another shot behind.

Emerald Coast Classic

MILTON, Fla. -- Bob Gilder shot a 6-under 64 and Tom Watson had a 66 to share the second-round lead in the Champions Tour's Emerald Coast Classic.

Gilder and Watson had a 10-under 130 total. Bobby Wadkins shot a career-best 61 to join Gil Morgan, Leonard Thompson, Morris Hatalsky, Larry Nelson and Vicente Fernandez at 9 under.

Algarve Open

FARO, Portugal -- Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson shot a 1-under 71 in windy conditions to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Algarve Open.

Jacobson had a 5-under 211 total. Englishmen Brian Davis (71) and Greg Owen (76) were tied for second.

-- From wire reports