If Leta Lindley continues to play as well as she did at the LPGA Championship, she won't have to wait nearly as long as Chris Johnson to win her first Grand Slam event.
Johnson made an 8-foot par putt on the second playoff hole Sunday to edge Lindley and win her first major tournament since turning pro in 1980. It was the first LPGA Championship to go into a playoff since 1970 - two years before Lindley was born.Lindley, vying for her first win in three years on the tour, started the day tied with the 39-year-old Johnson at the top of the leaderboard. They battled for command the entire afternoon before the end came as dusk was rapidly approaching.
"I knew that I had to go out there and play well, and I thought I was getting the job done," Johnson said. "I just didn't get the job done as early as I thought."
Both players shot par-71s for a 3-under 281 total. After each bogeyed the first playoff hole, Johnson was virtually assured the victory when Lindley's shot from the 10th tee soared into the trees to the right of the fairway.
Lindley then punched the ball onto the fairway and hit to within 30 feet of the pin. Johnson put pressure on herself by hitting into the crowd behind the green.
"I really got lucky there," Johnson said. "The gallery stopped the ball."
Johnson got to within 8 feet, and after Lindley came up short on her par putt, Johnson pushed her shot into the cup.
Lindley pressed the veteran right to very finish, smiling all the way during the most pressure-packed round of her life.
"She played very well. I knew she would," Johnson said.
It was the third time that Lindley played in a final twosome and the third time she failed to win. But the next time might be different.
Johnson, despondent over her lackluster career, began taking lessons from pros Hank Haney and Mike LaBauve. It finally paid off Sunday with a $180,000 winner's check - the biggest payday of her career.
Johnson, Lindley and Annika Sorenstam were the only players to shoot under par in four trips over the DuPont Country Club course.
"I thought I handled myself well," Lindley said. "I did everything I could. I gave myself an opportunity to win a major championship."
Sorenstam, who started the day five strokes behind the co-leaders, shot a 67 for a 282. The leading money-winner on the tour, Sorenstam blew a chance to join the playoff by missing a 2-foot putt on 18 - her only bogey of the day. She used birdies on 11, 13 and 15 to move into contention.
Sherri Steinhauer fell by the wayside by four-putting on 10 for a double-bogey. She shot a 72 to finish in a fourth-place tie at 284 with defending champion Laura Davies, who had won two of the past three LPGA Championships.