Meg Mallon wins Du Maurier Classic

A day that seemed likely to be a showdown between Sweden's Annika Sorenstam and Canada's Lorie Kane turned out to be a good one for the USA. Sorenstam and Kane started the final round of the 2000 du Maurier Classic three shots ahead of the field; by the end of the day, neither were able to withstand the siege of the USA's Meg Mallon, who shot a 69 to finish at 282 (-6) and win her first du Maurier Classic title.

The USA's Rosie Jones also made a run to the top with a 68 (-4), which put her in second place at five-under par and one stroke ahead of Sorenstam, who ended up third.

If the players would have looked at the record book, Mallon's surge to the winner's circle should not have surprised them. Of Mallon's 13 LPGA Tour victories, nine are come-from-behind victories.

"It's fun to chase," said Mallon, who nearly pulled the same trick at the 2000 U.S. Women's Open, but her surge ended short and she finished tied for second. "I had such heartbreak at the U.S. Open this year. And you talk about giveth and taketh away. I certainly felt that in the last five weeks, and I feel fortunate to feel both emotions. But it's great to come out on top today."

The 14-year LPGA Tour veteran has now won three of the LPGA Tour's four current major championships, putting her just one title (the Nabisco Championship) away from achieving the career Grand Slam. Only four women in the LPGA Tour's 50-year history have achieved the career Grand Slam: Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley and Juli Inkster, all of whom are in the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame.

"The Nabisco Championship is the only one I haven't won, but I played very well there," said Mallon, who finished tied for third at the Nabisco Championship this year. "Now, the ball is in my court. The pressure is on me and it's fine. I enjoy the majors; I love playing them. It's the best test of golf, and I like being in the situation, the pressure situation."

Mallon started the day three strokes off the lead. She birdied the fourth hole and by the fifth hole, she was one stroke behind Kane. A birdie on seven and nine took her to six-under-par and the lead, which she did not relinquish from that point forward. A birdie and a bogey on the back nine balanced one another out for her to finish at six-under-par.

"Today, I tried to go out and eliminate those mistakes [made on the first three days], play good solid golf and just see what happens," said Mallon, who crossed the $5 million mark in career earnings with her $180,000 first-place paycheck. "I couldn't believe it . . . It felt like around the seventh or eighth hole that I was in the lead or at least tied, so it was quite a turnaround in emotions in the middle of the round.

"I just went out and played smart, aggressive and didn't get myself in trouble, major-type golf. I was nervous the last few holes . . . nervous and excited and enjoying the moment. I was just thrilled to be able to come down and do it."

The second U.S. player to make a run was Jones, whose 68 was the low round of the day. She made three birdies on the front and one on the back nine for a bogey-free round. Jones was one shot off the lead when she birdied the 10th hole but was unable to move any closer to the lead than one stroke. Jones was unaware of how close she was to the lead until the 15th hole.

"I didn't look (at the scoreboard) until 15," said Jones, who is still seeking her first victory of the season and her first major championship win. "And I was really kind of surprised because I thought Annika or Lorie were just going to inch away from the field and someone was really going to have a hot round. I kept telling myself the leaders are at eight. I'm at five I need to make a couple more. Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer, and about the 15th hole, I looked up and checked it out."

Jones has been playing well the last few weeks and tied for third place last week at the Michelob Light Classic.

"I've been playing really well all month," said Jones, who is the highest-ranked player on the 2000 money list without a victory (sixth). "When I got here, I lost my swing. I kind of scraped around at 74 and thought I was lucky to have that. I called my pro back home and we talked a little bit about stuff. I didn't hit a lot of great drives out there, but I managed myself well and rally am kind of surprised that I could bring it back this far and this good on this golf course."

Sorenstam, who led two of the three early rounds, finished in third place, two strokes behind Mallon at four-under-par (284). Her final round 74 included four bogeys and two birdies. LPGA Tour Rookie Diana D'Alessio, who led after the first round, placed fourth at three-under par. Kane, Canada's favorite daughter, played in the final pairing with Sorenstam and finished at two-under par (286), putting her in a two-way tie for fifth with LPGA Tour Hall of Famer Juli Inkster.

Defending champion Karrie Webb shared a four-way tie for seventh at 289 (+1) with Becky Iverson, Se Ri Pak and Laura Philo.

This is the final year that du Maurier can sponsor the du Maurier Classic due to legislation passed by the Canadian government banning title sports sponsorship by tobacco companies.