Sorenstam's winning streak comes to an end

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Five tournaments in the making, Annika Sorenstam's winning streak ended with one miserable hole.

After climbing the leaderboard Sunday morning, Sorenstam dropped out of contention with a double-bogey on the third hole of the final round of the Michelob Ultra Open. She finished at 2-over 286, leaving her well behind leader Cristie Kerr and ending her hopes of winning a record sixth straight tournament.

"I wanted to do it," said Sorenstam, who shot a 3-over 74 in the final round. "I had a great opportunity... and it just didn't happen, unfortunately. I'm a little sad about that."

Kerr was at 8 under overall through 14 holes in the final round of the tournament, which has a $2.2 million purse. She is looking for her fifth overall victory, but her first with Sorenstam in the field. Jill McGill was 4 under through 15, and Natalie Gulbis, one of Sorenstam's playing partners, finished at 2 under 282.

It's the first time Sorenstam has finished a tournament above par since the 2003 John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic. She was 1 over in the 54-hole event, tying for 10th.

Sorenstam had won five straight tournaments since last November, matching Nancy Lopez's long-standing LPGA record. After five weeks off, she came to Kingsmill looking for No. 6.

She never quite found her groove, though. Struggling with her putter, she shot a 5-over 76 in the opening round that put her jeopardy of missing the cut. She rallied in the second and third rounds, and got back into contention with a 2-under 69 in the third round Sunday morning. She was at 1 under for the tournament, and had jumped all the way to fifth place.

She was still eight strokes behind Kerr, though. But there was another round to play, and no one on the tour closes better than Sorenstam. She's come from behind in 19 of her 59 victories, including two this year.

Few players are better equipped to handle the rigors of playing 36 on a Sunday, too. The last time she did it, at last year's LPGA Championship, she won her seventh major championship.

"I was excited about the opportunity, especially with the way I played this morning," she said. "But the wheels came off early, and I could never really recover."

The break between rounds was only 15 minutes, but it was long enough to sap whatever momentum Sorenstam had. On the first hole, she yanked her drive and had to settle for a bogey.

But it was the par-5 No. 3 that really did her in. She pushed her tee shot right and into some trees, and had no choice but to punch out, landing in the rough. She then topped a 4-wood, hitting the face of a bunker and landing maybe 45 yards from where she'd started.

Her fourth shot sailed into a greenside bunker that's well below the elevated putting surface. It was a bad lie, too, forcing her to stand with one foot inside the bunker and one foot out, and she could only get the ball up to the middle of the hill in front of her.

She chipped within 2 feet and tapped in, but the double-bogey left her at 2 over for the tournament.

"Just a lot of bad shots," Sorenstam said when asked what happened on the hole. "There was a lot of bad shots."

A lot of bad putts, too, which is what ultimately cost her the tournament.

Sorenstam had so much trouble reading the greens in the first round that she asked caddie Terry McNamara to do it the rest of the way. But even that didn't help her get the ball in the hole. She needed 31 putts in the fourth round.

Most of the misses were by mere inches, too. Like her bogey on the par-4 No. 6 in the final round. Chipping from about 35 feet, Sorenstam got within about a foot and most of the crowd started walking to the next hole, confident she'd make it.

Oh, no. The ball skirted the right edge of the cup, leaving Sorenstam with a bogey. She walked off the hole shaking her head, knowing the streak was about to end.

"Life goes on," she said. "There's a new tournament next week. Hopefully I can read those greens."