Pettersen holds on for narrow win

Suzann Pettersen made up for all those lost strokes with three big shots on the Pattaya Old Course’s 479-yard, par-5 finishing hole.

After blowing the last of a seven-stroke lead with her second straight bogey, the Norwegian star hit a “grip-down” 3-wood from 225 yards to 15 feet to set up an eagle putt that beat Laura Davies by a stroke Sunday in the Honda LPGA Thailand at Pattaya, Thailand.

Pettersen’s 1-under 71 left her at 21-under 267, not the number she had in mind a day earlier after reaching 20 under with a bogey-free 63, but good enough for her second straight LPGA Tour victory and third in four weeks.

Davies, paired with Pettersen, birdied the final two holes for a 65. The 44-year-old English player was trying to win her first LPGA Tour title since 2001. She won a European tour event in Austria last month for her 68th worldwide victory.

The dramatic finish on the hot day at Siam Country Club extended Pettersen’s string of consecutive rounds at the top of the leaderboard to six. She has had a least a share of the lead in nine of her last 12 tour rounds.

Paula Creamer shot her third straight 66 to finish third at 18 under, and Australian Rachel Hetherington (65) followed at 16 under. Stacy Prammanasudh (66) was 14 under, with Annika Sorenstam (72) another stroke back in sixth.

PGA Tour

At Port St. Lucie, Fla., just when it looked as if Daniel Chopra would roll to his first PGA Tour win, things began to fall apart.

Shigeki Maruyama and Fredrik Jacobsen were thrilled to take advantage.

Maruyama holed out from the sand for eagle at the par-5 16th to get into a three-way tie for the lead, Jacobsen moved steadily up the leaderboard all day, and Chopra simply unraveled on the back nine at the Ginn sur Mer Classic – setting the stage for a potentially wild finish this morning at Tesoro Club.

Play was suspended for the day by darkness with Maruyama, Jacobsen and Chopra all at 18 under, two shots ahead of clubhouse leader Dicky Pride.

The final round will resume at 5 a.m. (PDT) today, with $810,000 going to the winner.

Champions Tour

At Sonoma, Calif., Jim Thorpe successfully defended his title in the Charles Schwab Championship, birdieing the final four holes to win the Champions Tour’s season-ending event for the third time in five years.

Thorpe, who edged Tom Jenkins by $4,079 for the 30th and last spot in the field, shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 20-under 268, three strokes ahead of Denis Watson and Fred Funk. It was Thorpe’s 13th tour victory and first since the 2006 event.

Watson, the leader heading into the final round, struggled with his tee shots for the second straight day, finishing with a 70.

Funk matched Thorpe with a 66, but couldn’t overcome an opening-round 70 that dropped him six strokes behind the leaders.