CARLSBAD, Calif.
Bob McAdoo Jersey . -- Anna Nordqvist rallied to win the Kia Classic on Sunday at Aviara for her second victory in her last four LPGA Tour starts. Two strokes behind leaders Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas entering the round, Nordqvist closed with her second straight 5-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Salas. "Im very excited. I still cant believe it," Nordqvist said. "I was a couple of shots back going into today, but this morning I told myself to give it a shot and I ended up making quite of bit of birdies out there. Im very excited to have two wins this season." The 26-year-old Swede won the LPGA Thailand last month to end a five-year victory drought, holding off top-ranked Inbee Park. In 2009, Nordqvist won the LPGA Championship and LPGA Tour Championship. Projected to jump from 16th to ninth in the world, Nordqvist finished at 13-under 275 and earned $255,000. She two-putted for par on the par-4 18th, holing a 2-footer. "My hands were shaking a little, Im not going to lie," Nordqvist said. "You never know with the sun setting you see every little spike mark. So I tried not to focus on that and see the hole." The Kraft Nabisco, the first major tournament of the year, is next week in Rancho Mirage. "I really love the majors," Nordqvist said. "Its a tougher set up on course and I feel more pressure, more spotlight on the tournament and I like that. I like the test and it seems like it is going to be pretty windy next week which will make it tougher. Im very happy with the way Im playing and cant wait to tee it up." Salas birdied the 18th for a 70. "Im going to put this in the back of my mind, but know I can make putts down the stretch," Salas said. The former Southern California player is winless on the LPGA Tour. "Obviously, I cant control what Anna does," she said. "Shes been playing awesome this year and already had a win, congrats to her. Thats just golf. Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they dont. Luckily, I finished with a birdie on a good note, and off to the Kraft."" Nordqvist changed equipment and started working with instructor Jorje Parada during the off-season after considering leaving the tour. The former Arizona State player made a short birdie putt on the par-4 first hole and added birdies on the par-5 eighth and par-4 ninth to make the turn at 11 under. She also birdied the par-4 13th, par-3 14th and par-4 16th before dropping a stroke on the par-5 17th. Lexi Thompson was third at 11 under after a 68, and Chella Choi was another stroke back after a 69. Kerr closed with a 73 to finish fifth at 9 under. Park, preparing for her title defence next week at Mission Hills, had a 68 to join third-ranked Stacy Lewis (71), Se Ri Pak (69) and Eun-Hee Ji (71) at 8 under. Dori Carter, the 244th-ranked player who shot a course-record 64 on Friday, finished with a 73 to tie for 10th at 7 under. Michelle Wie had a 70 to tie for 16th at 5 under. Laura Diaz had a hole-in-one for the second straight day to become the second player in LPGA Tour history to make two aces in a tournament. Diaz aced the par-3 third hole Saturday in the third round, then holed out on the par-3 sixth on Sunday -- a shot she followed with an eagle on the par-4 seventh. She also had an eagle Saturday on the par-5 fifth. Jenny Lidback is the only other player with two aces in an event, accomplishing the feat in the 1997 Tournament of Champions. Diaz used a 6-iron Sunday on the 157-yard sixth. "I was trying to hit it a little left to right high and take a little bit off of it," Diaz said. "And, yeah, I did it. It went in." On the eagle on No. 7, she holed out from 122 yards with a 50-degree wedge, the club she used to hole out twice Saturday. Shes the first tour player to follow an ace with an eagle on the next hole The 38-year-old Diaz shot 2-under 70 in each round to finish at 2 under.
Gene Shue Jersey . He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2.
Joe Caldwell Jersey .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem.NORFOLK, Va. -- St. Johns can sit back and relax for a while if it can win Game 5 of its American Hockey League Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday in Norfolk. The IceCaps got first-period goals by Carl Klingberg and Jason Jaffray in coasting to a 5-1 win Monday over the Admirals and hold a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven semifinal series. St. Johns added goals from Jerome Samson and Eric ODell in the second period and another by ODell in the third, moving into position to win the series Tuesday and advance to the Eastern final while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Providence decide the other finalist. That series is tied 1-1 with Game 3 set for Wednesday. "We talked about having a killer instinct at the start of the playoffs," said Jaffray, the St. Johns captain. "If you get a chance to finish off a team, youve got to jump all over them. Weve got a chance (Tuesday). "As much as we enjoy playing in front of our home fans at Mile One Centre, any chance to send a team packing is a huge opportunity." St. Johns, which finished fourth in the East during the regular season, is the highest-seeded team left in the conference after all three division winners-- Manchester, Binghamton and Springfield-- were ousted in the opening round. The IceCaps goals Monday looked familiar. Klingberg set up shop in front of the Admiral net, screening goalie Brad Thiessen in position to tip in a shot from the blue line by Josh Morrissey to earn a 1-0 lead with only 4:11 played in the opening period. The play replicated one that earned St. Johns two goals only two nights earlier in Game 3. Jaffrays goal came when he was at the net to tip in a shot by Morrissey with 14:39 played. "Youve got to make it tough on any goalie you play against," Jaffray said. "Any scouting report is going to say get traffic, put rebounds uppstairs and get the dirty goals.
Derrick Rose Jersey. Weve got a lot of them in the last couple of games." The antidote to St. Johns scoring from in front of the net is clear. "Were just not blocking enough shots," Norfolk coach Trent Yawney said of the IceCaps getting the puck to the net in the first place. "The bottom line is that they blocked more shots than we did. When theyve got people standing in front of the net, and were not filling shooting lanes, were not doing a good enough job." Jaffrays goal was the IceCaps fourth with a man advantage in the past three games. It was scored against what was the AHLs best penalty-killing unit during the regular season, but one which has struggled during the playoffs. Samson scored from the right faceoff circle to make it 3-1. He had the winning goal in Game 3 from the same spot. ODells first goal came when he managed to nudge the puck through a seven-player pileup in the crease that included Thiessen. ODells second goal was easier, scored after Thiessen rejected a shot by Jaffray, but left the puck on the doorstep. ODell skated past, stopped and reached back to tap it into the net. St. Johns goalie Michael Hutchinson gave up only a second-period goal to Norfolks Andre Petersson, while turning away 28 shots for the win. Thiessen made 23 saves in defeat. "A lot of teams have come back from 3-1 deficits and have this playoff year," Yawney insisted of his players. "They can be a part of that group, or they can be part of the group that says theyve had enough. Well see (Tuesday). But Im not giving up." Thats something St. Johns expects after its first really easy game of the playoffs. "Were expecting a huge push from them," Jaffray said. "Theyre playing for their season." The IceCaps are playing for a little extra rest. ' ' '