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Ochoa cruises to victory

LPGA TOUR:Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa underlined her Tiger Woods-like dominance of the women's game by winning the rain-delayed HSBC Champions in Singapore by 11 strokes, matching the LPGA's highest victory margin of the past decade.

The 26-year-old Ochoa, who secured eight titles in 2007 compared with Woods's seven, fired a four-under-par 68 - her fourth straight round in the 60s - to complete a 20-under-par total of 268 at the Tanah Merah Country Club.

Sweden's former number one Annika Sorenstam was second.

Ochoa, the first woman golfer to make more than $4 million in a season, was playing her first tournament in three months since winning the end-of-season ADT Championship. She destroyed an invitational field that included all of last season's LPGA winners and the major champions of the past three years. Just 13 of the 78 players broke par.

"It's one of my best performances," the Mexican said. "I practised hard in the off-season, and I'm one out of one this season. Hopefully, it will be a great year."

Ochoa held leads of one, seven and eight shots after the first three rounds and was never challenged as she produced birdies at the third and fourth holes and another at the ninth to pull further clear. She returned after a rain delay of more than two hours to strike her 23rd birdie of the tournament at the 16th, before completing her second bogey-free round.

The day's only serious tussle was between Sorenstam and Paula Creamer of the US, the winners of the LPGA's two other events in 2008, for the runner-up spot.

Starting the day tied for second, Sorenstam failed to score a birdie before the turn and Creamer managed two after a bogey at the first hole to edge ahead.

Creamer hit two bogeys on the back nine to drop to seven-under as Sorenstam followed a bogey with two birdies to scoop the $181,383 second prize.

SUNSHINE TOUR:The final round of the Mount Edgecombe Trophy was a little more work than he expected, but the result was the one Mark Murless had been dreaming of all or summer.

After so many near-misses, he finally left the post-tournament celebrations with a gleaming glass trophy and a cheque; all his to take home after beating Darren Fichardt at the first tie-hole of a play-off.

What ended as a play-off between Murless and Fichardt actually started as a two-horse race between Fichardt and Adilson da Silva, with Murless five-shots back and playing two groups ahead.

Murless, however, shot a final-round 67 to tie Fichardt on 13-under-par 275.

Jaco van Zyl (72), Trevor Fisher Jnr (69) and Michiel Bothma, who matched Murless's 67, all shared third on 10-under-par.

SPANISH AMATEUR:England's Daniel Willet won the Spanish Amateur Championship at Platja de Pals, Gerona, yesterday when he beat local favourite Jordi García Pinto 5 and 3 in the 36-hole final.

The world ranked number two was always in command after taking a five-hole lead after the first 18 holes.

In the semi-finals, Willet beat Johann López Lázaro of France while Pinto beat England's Eddie Pepperell.