Rosales Stands Tall at Finish

Annika Sorenstam is the world’s greatest women’s player. Grace Park has a major championship. Aree Song hoped to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history.

Jennifer Rosales beat them all.

The 25-year-old former USC standout won for the first time on the women’s tour, shooting a seven-under-par 65 on Sunday to overcome all the big names ahead of her at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.

“It’s great to win when all the top players are playing,” Rosales said after her one-stroke win at Eagle’s Landing Country Club in suburban Atlanta.

She began the round four shots behind Song, who turned 18 on Saturday and hoped to surpass Hall of Famer Marlene Hagge as the youngest winner ever.

But the talented teenager fell apart in the final-day spotlight, soaring to a 78 that left her nine strokes behind the winner.

Rosales, playing four threesomes ahead of the final group, saved par at the par-five final hole despite knocking her second shot into the temporary seats lining the left side of the green.

She was allowed to drop next to the stands, winding up with a terrible lie in the thick rough. She blasted out onto the green, missed a long putt and tapped in for par.

That was good enough.

While Rosales paced nervously behind the scoring tent, sneaking in a cigarette and talking with family on her cellphone, several golfers had a chance to pull even with the leader’s 14-under 274.

Rosie Jones, who lives in Atlanta, laid up 70 yards from the pin but knocked her sand wedge to the back fringe. The 13-time tour winner had already chipped in for one birdie, but this one curled a few inches wide of the cup to leave her one stroke behind. There was more agony to come at 18.

Also trailing by a stroke, Becky Morgan of Wales stuck her third shot only six feet from the flag. But she pulled the birdie putt badly, costing her a chance to go for her first tour victory in a playoff.

Park, who won the first major of the year at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, birdied 18 to wind up in a four-way tie for second.

Jung Yeon Lee of South Korea was the other runner-up, her closing-round 65 barely noticed because she finished more than an hour before the last group.

Sorenstam couldn’t make any putts and settled for a 71, failing to win for only the second time in five tournaments worldwide this year. She was four shots behind Rosales.

Rosales’ putter worked just fine in a bogey-free round. Her confidence soared when she rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on the first hole. She followed with a 20-footer at No. 3.

After making birdie on No. 14, Rosales noticed her name atop the leader board. She struggled to keep her emotions in check.

“I started taking deep breaths,” said Rosales, who resides in Rowland Heights. “That helped me a lot.”