Angela Stanford wins HSBC Womens Champions on third hole of four-player playoff

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Angela Stanford earned her fifth LPGA Tour trophy, and her first since 2009, on Sunday at the HSBC Women's Champions.

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Alex Kennedy

Associated Press

Series: LPGA Tour

Angela Stanford won the HSBC Women's Champions on the third playoff hole Sunday, her first victory since 2009 and her fifth on the LPGA Tour.

The 34-year-old Texan parred the last playoff hole, beating South Koreans Jenny Shin and Na Yeon Choi and China's Shanshan Feng.

"It's a big deal," Stanford said. "I'm just thinking about home and everybody there."

Stanford, who earned $210,000 for the victory, trailed Shin by a shot after the 17th, when play was delayed about 90 minutes because of lightning. When play resumed, Shin hit her tee shot out of bounds, leading to a double bogey. Stanford bogeyed No. 18 to fall into a four-way tie at 10-under 278.

"I felt for her (Shin) because we've all been in that position," said Stanford, who shot a 1-under 71 in the final round. "I didn't think I'd be there at the end. I was all over the map today."

The 19-year-old Shin turned professional in 2010 and has competed in 18 LPGA Tour events. She said her inexperience may have led to jitters at the 18th.

"The tee shot on the 18th hole really threw me off," Shin said. "The playoff wasn't that bad. I wasn't as nervous as I was on the 18th."

Top-ranked Yani Tseng finished fifth, one shot behind after 72 holes. Michelle Wie had another disappointing round with a 75 and trailed the leaders by 32 shots. Wie finished next to last, ahead of only Singapore amateur Sock Hwee Koh.

Tseng began the third round at 1 under, but a 5-under 67 on Saturday and a 4-under 32 on the first nine holes Sunday put her in a brief tie for the lead with Shin. A double bogey on 10 and another bogey on 14 pushed her back down the leaderboard.

Tseng had seven LPGA Tour victories last year and started this year with a win at last week's Honda LPGA Thailand. She has yet to win the HSBC Women's Champions since it started in 2008.

"I'm kind of upset," Tseng said. "I feel disappointed because I didn't win this tournament. I was very close this year. I played great front nine, but hopefully next year I won't be disappointed."

Stanford started the day tied for the lead with Shin and Katie Futcher, who faltered Sunday with five bogeys for a 76 and finished tied for 11th.

Karrie Webb, who won last year in Singapore, shot a 70 to finish nine shots off the lead.

The tournament featured a field of 63 golfers, including 18 of the 20 top-ranked players when play started Thursday. Paula Creamer, the No. 5-ranked player, withdrew after the second round for family reasons.

Steve Bisciotti In Favor Of Replay Changes

Posted Jan 10, 2014

Ryan MinkBaltimoreRavens.com Staff Writer@Ravens All Ryan Mink Articles



Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti believes an offsite reviews process would speed up the game.



What concerns Ravens Owner Steve Bisciotti most about the NFL is at the top of many fans’ complaint lists too.

Refereeing.

But Bisciotti isn’t blaming the refs, or venting about them. He believes they’re in a tough position, and he’s trying to help.

“I kind of think [referees] get a bad rap,” Bisciotti said Wednesday. “But, I think we can get that better. I think the new rules have made it ridiculously hard on these guys.”

The league has cracked down on violent hits, especially those with or to the helmet, in an effort to make the game safer for players and prevent concussions. The NFL has instructed referees to vigilantly enforce those rules.

But considering the speed of the game, it’s difficult for referees to differentiate what is a helmet shot and what is a clean hit. And since unnecessary roughness or personal foul penalties are for 15 yards, they can have a huge impact on the results of games.

Bisciotti, Head Coach John Harbaugh and Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick talked with each other about that very issue before their Week 16 game.

“Trying to make these refs in a split second understand what is a helmet-to-helmet hit in and of itself is impossible, because you see heads snap back, and other times you realize that it was the shoulder to the shoulder, and they still get a flag,” Bisciotti said.

Bisciotti’s solution is to make such penalties not only reviewable (which they currently are not), but he also believes that all reviews should be done by somebody not in the stadium. He has heard talk of the NFL adopting a plan similar to that used by the NHL that would empower somebody in New York to review plays and make determinations.

“We’ve gotten better with the 10 camera angles, and we’ve gotten better with the HD, and we’ve got novice fans that can see that a referee is wrong,” Bisciotti said.

Putting review decisions in the hands of an offsite, nonpartisan party makes sense on a few different levels. They would get the same look on television, or perhaps even better, away from the stadium. They would also see it much faster and thus make a ruling quicker to speed up the game.

“I think it takes almost three minutes, even though they’re only allowed under the hood for one minute, by the time the ref goes over and talks to the guy, and he throws his flag, and then he walks over, and he’s on the headset, and he looks at all the different replays,” Bisciotti said. “I think we can expedite that process and make it better."


By speeding up the process, Bisciotti feels like the NFL could even consider giving coaches another challenge. They currently have two for the entire game, and can earn a third if they are correct on the previous two.

“I think having to decide whether you want to use a challenge in the first quarter, it’s hard for a coach, because he’s thinking, ‘I think we see it, we might have a chance at it, but I can’t afford to give that challenge up,’” Bisciotti said.

The Ravens owner also feels it may be easier for a nonpartisan official to overrule a referee than a referee to overrule someone on his own crew. Referees are graded on their performances, and overruling somebody on your own crew could hurt your crew’s grade.

Only problem is Bisciotti isn’t a decision maker when it comes to such NFL rules. General Manager Ozzie Newsome is on the league’s competition committee, however, and the idea could come up for discussion in March.

“That, to me – if I was in charge – I would be heading there full-speed ahead, and I really think the league is at least heading in that direction. If I can kick their [butts] a little bit faster, I certainly will,” Bisciotti said with a laugh, nudging Newsome.

“I really think that we need to make it fairer for the refs – not easier for the refs, but just fairer for the refs – because I think that we can all conclude that we still have the best refs out there.”