LPGA

• Rookie Tseng is second-youngest LPGA major winner

  
  

  Havre de Grace, MD (Sports Network) - Yani Tseng, a 19-year-old rookie from Taiwan, made a birdie on the fourth playoff hole Sunday to defeat Maria Hjorth at the McDonald's LPGA Championship.

  Tseng became the second-youngest woman to win a major championship and the first from Taiwan, the latter feat something she said has been a dream.

  "Dreams come true," said Tseng.

  She knocked a 175-yard approach shot to six feet at the 18th green, then rolled in the birdie putt to end the marathon sudden-death playoff.

  Hjorth had three putts to win in the span of about 30 minutes -- one in regulation, two in the playoff -- but couldn't hole any of them. She missed a 16-footer for birdie on what ended up being the last playoff hole.

  "I gained a lot of experience," said Hjorth, a three-time LPGA Tour winner from Sweden.

  Hjorth overcame a disastrous double-bogey at the 13th hole with back-to-back birdies at the 15th and 16th that gave her a one-shot lead on Tseng. But she missed a four-foot par putt at the 17th to fall into a tie, then missed a 12- footer for birdie at the 18th that would have given her the win.

  She closed with a one-under 71 in the final round. Tseng fired a four-under 68 in hot, humid conditions at Bulle Rock to join her at 12-under-par 276 overall.

  Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam both shot 71s on Sunday to finish one shot out of the playoff at 11-under 277.

  Ochoa, the world No.

  1 who was going for a third consecutive major championship, made birdies at the 16th and 18th holes for her share of third place. She was done in by back-to-back bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes.

  There was talk that the Mexican star could be the first woman to win the Grand Slam this season.

  "There's nothing I can do now," said Ochoa. "I tried my best." Sorenstam, the retiring world No. 2, had two birdies on the front nine and one bogey and eight pars on the back.

  It was a steady, though unspectacular round -- one that could have been her last at the major she won three consecutive times from 2003-05.

  "I'm very happy with the way I played, but obviously disappointed," said Sorenstam.

  Tseng was anything but disappointed after the long day, which began with her 1:15 p.m. (et) tee time in a threesome that included Ochoa.

  It ended as twilight approached in Havre de Grace.

  But the teenager was none the worse for wear.

  After making four birdies on the front nine to join a mix of players vying for the lead -- including Sorenstam and Hjorth -- Tseng bogeyed the 13th hole to fall two shots back.

  She rebounded with an eight-foot birdie at the 14th and parred the rest of her holes to get in at 12-under.

  Hjorth looked in control until she couldn't find her errant drive at the 13th hole and was forced to walk back and re-tee. She ended up with a double-bogey to go from being one shot ahead of Sorenstam for the lead, to trailing her by a shot.

  She was lucky to make the first of her back-to-back birdies after her second shot popped out of a water hazard in front of the 15th green and rolled onto the putting surface.

  Hjorth's missed par putt at the 17th was just the first of five squandered opportunities to remain in control of the tournament. After she missed her birdie putt at the 18th, she went on to miss birdie putts on each of the four playoff holes.

  "I had four really good chance to make birdie," said Hjorth, who was also seeking her first major. "Unfortunately, none of them went in." When Tseng finally ended the playoff with her six-foot birdie putt, she behaved as if she'd done it many times before -- not like the second-youngest woman to win a major (Morgan Pressel was 18 at last year's Kraft Nabisco).

  Nevermind that she'd never won any LPGA Tour event before, or that no player from Taiwan had ever won a major.

  "That was my dream," said Tseng, who also claimed $300,000 for the win. "I told everyone, 'I'll be the first to win a major (from Taiwan).' And I did it."

  06/08 20:33:36 ET