Ai Miyazato wins Safeway Classic/Inkster DQ’d

Japanese star Ai Miyazato captures the Safeway Classic at Pumpkin Ridge and takes over the No. 2 spot in world ranking in the process.

Christie Kerr, who has held the No. 1 spot briefly since Lorena Ochoa retired, chased Miyazoto on the final round but lost her momentum when she hit into the water on the 18th hole. She finished in 2nd place.

A newsworthy distraction was the disqualification of hall-of-famer Julie Inkster. Inkster, who was in a three-way tie for second with In-Kyung Kim and Na Yeon Choi after two rounds, used a weighted training aid on her 9-iron to keep herself loose at the turn which broke a rule 14-3 that essentially says it is illegal to use a training aid during play. Inkster wasn’t advised of her disqualification until the seventeenth hole. She issued this statement, “I had a 30-minute wait and I needed to loosen up,’ she said. “It had no effect on my game whatsoever, but it is what it is. I’m disappointed.”