以下新聞轉載自China Post
Yani Tseng reaches new milestones with 10th LPGA title
Taiwan's Yani Tseng, the world No. 1 in women's golf, Sunday successfully defended her title at the LPGA Tour's NW Arkansas Championship by making the most of her second chances, rolling in a four-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff.This earned Tseng her 10th championship as a LPGA golfer and helped her set another milestone, becoming the only LPGA player to defend two titles this season. Early last month, Tseng became the first golfer in a decade to win the Women's British Open in two consecutive years.
Tseng holed the winning putt on the par-five 18th hole to edge South Korea's Amy Yang who failed to convert a six-foot birdie try just moments earlier.
“I almost cried today because in the middle of the round, I felt like, 'Oh, I'm going to lose today.' Because I didn't feel any excitement and I wasn't making any birdies,” Tseng said. “But I just telling myself, 'I need to get excited, need more focus, try to stretch, move around, just feel more.' Like the last three holes, I made some birdies, so that was very important for me.”The 22-year-old Tseng had her own putting woes on the final hole in regulation after failing to make a five-foot putt that would have given her the victory at the Pinnacle Country Club course.
Instead the pair headed to a playoff after they both closed with three-under 68s to finish at 12-under 201.
Tseng leads the LPGA Tour with five wins this season, including major titles at the LPGA Championship and Women's British Open.
Successfully defending her title at the LPGA Tour's NW Arkansas Championship made Tseng become the first LPGA golfer to have earned US$2 million in a single season since 2008.
Tseng took the US$300,000 first prize after beating Yang on the first hole of a playoff at the Pinnacle Country Club course, bringing her winnings on the LPGA Tour to US$2.116 million.
Tseng was far ahead of second-ranked Cristie Kerr of the United States, who has earned US$1.348 million so far this year.Tseng was the first LPGA golfer able to crack the US$2 million mark in a single season since Mexican Lorena Ochoa attained the milestone in 2008 before retiring.
In the past two years, South Koreans Jiyai Shin and Na Yeon Choi led the money list with winnings of US$1.81 million in 2009 and US$1.87 million in 2010, respectively.
Tseng's earnings to date for 2011 would be the seventh highest on record for a single season since the LPGA began compiling annual money lists in 2000, and there are still nine tournaments left to be played this year.She could conceivably challenge Annika Sorenstam's personal high of US$2.86 million in earnings set in 2002, but will likely fall far short of the LPGA record of US$4.36 million set by Ochoa in 2007.
In her 16 LPGA events this year, Tseng has earned an average of US$132,253 each, the third-highest in history behind only Ochoa in 2007 (US$174,599) and Sorenstam in 2004 (US$141,372).
The Arkansas victory was the fifth LPGA title Tseng has won this season and the 10th of her career. She has captured two majors — the LPGA Championship and the Women's British Open — and also won the Honda LPGA Thailand and the LPGA State Farm Classic.
With five victories this year, Tseng has joined an elite group of women who have accomplished that feat in a season, including Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez and Pat Bradley.
Tseng has also won three other non-LPGA events this year — one in Taiwan and two in Australia early this year.
In the 16 LPGA tournaments Tseng played during this season, she carded an average of 4.61 birdies, outshining all other players.
birdie noun [高爾夫]博蒂(低於標準竿一竿近洞)
putt verb [高爾夫]推球入洞
playoff noun 錦標賽;延長賽;最後決賽
decade noun 十年
consecutive adj. 連續不斷的
stretch verb 傾注全力
woe noun 逆境;悲痛
far ahead ph. 遙遙領先
attain verb 達到;獲得
compile verb 彙編;收集(資料)
tournament noun 錦標賽;聯賽
conceivably adv. 可相信地;想得到的
elite noun 精英
feat noun 功績
card verb 把...記入卡片
outshine verb 使...失色;比...優秀
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