GOLF : LPGA RAIL CHARITY TOURNAMENT : Bradley Isn’t Just Imagining as She Wins by Six Shots

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. —  During rain delays at the LPGA Rail Charity Classic, Pat Bradley sat alone playing the course in her mind--getting birdies on every hole.

Then she put her imagination to work Tuesday, finishing off a seven-under-par 65 to win her 28th tournament and set a 54-hole LPGA record.

“It was a very productive rain delay for me--very productive,” she said.

Bradley finished the $400,000 event at 19-under-par 197, besting the 198 posted for 54 holes by Jan Stephenson in the 1981 Mary Kay Classic. Bradley’s 28th victory on the LPGA tour left her two short of the 30 needed to enter the Hall of Fame.

Danielle Ammaccapane had a final-round 66 and moved into second with a birdie on the 18th hole, finishing six strokes behind Bradley at 203.

Laura Davies had a lackluster 72, dropping from a tie for the lead with Bradley to seven strokes back. She tied at 204 with Meg Mallon, who finished with a 67.

Rain and lightning forced a two-hour delay Monday, giving Bradley plenty of time to visualize breezing through the course. When play resumed, she knocked in three consecutive birdies to open a four-stroke lead.

New flashes of lightning forced officials to postpone the finish until Tuesday, when she started with two more birdies and played even par the rest of the way. Bradley missed going 20-under on the 18th hole when her putt of about 12 feet stopped a foot from the cup.

“It was the first time that I can tell you I really let down since this tournament started,” she said. “Yes, 20-under would have been great, but I’m very, very pleased with the 19 and I’m more than ecstatic with the 28th win.”

Bradley, 40, is the LPGA’s all-time leader in earnings and also leads the tour this season.

Davies led by five shots after the shooting a record-tying 10-under-par 62 in the first round, but she played the final two rounds in only two under par.