Ochoa gets one-stroke victory

Lorena Ochoa found a new way to win, grinding it out instead of running away from the field.

A day after leaving the retiring Annika Sorenstam in her wake, Ochoa overcame a balky putter to shoot a 1-under 71 for a one-stroke victory over five players Sunday for her third straight victory in the rain-shortened Sybase Classic, at Clifton, N.J.

The victory was Ochoa’s 23rd overall and 20th since April 2006. The $300,000 prize pushed her career earnings past the $12 million mark, making her the fastest player on the LPGA Tour to reach that plateau.

Ochoa grabbed an early four-shot lead on Sunday with a birdie on No. 2, and finished at 10-under 206 on the Upper Montclair Country Club course.

Morgan Pressel (66), Catriona Matthew (67), Brittany Lang (68), Na Yeon Choi (69) and Sophie Gustafson (70) tied for second. Sorenstam (71) tied for 11th at 5 under.

LPGA

At Duluth, Ga., Ryuji Imada claimed his first PGA Tour victory, beating Kenny Perry in a playoff at the AT&T Classic after losing the tournament a year ago on the 73rd hole.

The two finished regulation at 15-under 273, then Imada made par on the first playoff hole while Perry settled for bogey.

Imada, a native of Japan who attended the University of Georgia, closed with a 5-under 67 to match Perry (69) at 15 under. Camilo Villegas (66) was 14 under.

Champions Tour

At Hoover, Ala., Andy Bean managed to save par on No. 18 after hooking his drive left and bogeying the previous hole, holding on for a 2-under 70 and a one-stroke victory over Loren Roberts in the Regions Charity Classic.

It was only the second win in 5 1/2 years on the 50-and-over tour for Bean.

Bean finished at 13-under 203. Roberts closed with a 69.