Annika Sorenstam ends her glorious career (AFP)
Annika Sorenstam ended her glorious career, fittingly with a birdie on the final hole, but could not produce enough magic to win the Dubai Ladies Masters for a third straight time.
The 38-year-old Swede said an emotional goodbye to the game with a final-round one-under par 71, but that was good enough only for a tied seventh place finish at six-under 282.
The 500,000 euro tournament, the season-ending event on the Ladies European Tour, was won by overnight leader Anja Monke of Germany, who never let go of the lead with a solid display of four-under 68. That gave her a three-shot win over Italian Veronica Zorzi at 13-under 275.
"In the end, as I walked down the 18th fairway, I felt at peace with myself," said Sorenstam.
"I could feel the breeze on my face, and it was just a really comfortable feeling.
"I saw some players standing behind the 18th green; that gave me a tear. I saw my parents and my family and that give me a tear.
"I know the time is right, and therefore, I feel very happy at the same time as obviously, if you think about 15 years and all of the things I've achieved, it's sad.
"But you close the door and you open another one. I'm glad I have a chance to do that.
"I was a little nervous this morning. I woke up, had a little bit of a stomach ache, and I came here to the course a little earlier than normal and had some time to stretch and really reflect on the upcoming day.
"I did feel a little bit empty at times, but once I hit the first shot, then it's automatic."
Sorenstam's final round had three bogeys and four birdies, all of them coming in her last 10 holes.
Monke, who, like Sorenstam, is getting married next year, was delighted with her victory and said she waited for a couple of minutes on the 17th tee after hitting her tee shot so that she could see Sorenstam finish her final round on the adjacent 18th green.
"It feels really good to me. I'm sorry for Annika, but I played well. I'm feeling very happy. After the round, I just thanked her for everything she did for women's golf," said Monke, who made a hat-trick of birdies from the 10th onwards which helped her open the huge gap on top.
On whether all the attention on Sorenstam was a distraction or an advantage, Monke said: "I had to play my game no matter what or where the attention was on. I just tried to focus on my game. We saw her actually finishing it off on 18 which was great. But that was the only distraction."
Gwladys Nocera of France won the Order of Merit crown after shooting a three-under 69 in the final round that helped her finish at four-under for the tournament. Nocera earned 391,839 euros during the season, while Sweden's Helen Alfredsson was second with 320,099 euros.
© 2008 AFP/sid
