BELMONT, Mich. -- Mirim Lee won the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory, beating fellow South Korean player Inbee Park with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff. "I (was) nervous 100 per cent," Lee said. "First time in playoff. Inbee Park is like a hero in Korea and all the young girls want to be her now in Korea." The long-hitting Lee drove into greenside bunker on the second extra hole -- the short par-4 17th -- and blasted out to 5 feet. After Parks 15-foot birdie try lipped out, Lee holed her putt for the victory. They each parred the 18th to open the playoff. Parks approach shot hit the cup on the way past and she missed a 15-foot birdie try. Lee two-putted from 35 feet. The 23-year-old Lee, a rookie on the LPGA Tour, closed with a 2-under 69 to match Park at 14-under 270 at Blythefield Country Club. Park, a 10-time tour winner, finished with a 70. Lee is projected to jump to 29th in the world ranking. She earned $225,000 to jump from 40th to eighth on the money list with $414,135. Her previous best was a second-place finish in Phoenix in March. Norways Suzann Pettersen was a stroke back after a 69. Park said the win will give Lee great confidence. "I think she was kind of, you know, thinking about whether she should come to the LPGA or whether she should stay in KLPGA," Park said. "but I think this will definitely make her see she made a good decision." Park said in the end the new blade putter she put in the bag this week let her down in the last round. "I felt I hit a good putt, but it just didnt go in," she said of the final birdie attempt. "The putter just wasnt there. It was nice to shoot under par, but Mirim played well in the playoff holes." Pettersen, seeking her first win this year after 14 in her career, said she just didnt hit enough good shots or drives on the back nine in the final round. "Its nice to get four solid rounds of competition in," she said. "Ive struggled this year, but it is coming. Disappointed to be one short, but it was nice to be back in contention straight after a three-week break." With three holes to play, Park, Pettersen and Lee were tied for the lead 14 under, but Pettersen had tree and sand troubles and made a bogey at 16 to fall a shot behind. Park and Lee each missed birdie chances at the 17th. On the 18th, Lee two-putted for par from 40 feet, and Park made a 6-foot par putt. Pettersen, who was playing in the group in front of Park for the day, birdied the first two holes and eagled the par-5 fifth -- hitting a 3-wood shot to 6 feet -- to tie Park at 15 under. Lee birdied the par-5 11th to pull within a shot of Park. After 10 consecutive pars, Park three-putted the par-3 14th for a bogey. It happened about the same time Pettersen was punching a shot from the trees to eight feet at 15 to set up a birdie and another tie. Lee, trailing most of the day by a shot or two, then joined Park and Pettersen at 14 under with a 5-foot birdie putt at 15. Japans Haru Nomura was fourth at 10-under after a 68. Germanys Sandra Gal, the first-round leader, was another stroke back after a 66. Top-ranked Stacy Lewis had her best round of the week with a 66 to tie for 11th at 6 under. The tournament was the first LPGA Tour event in Michigan since 2000 when the Oldsmobile Classic in East Lansing ended its nine-year run. Marc Mariani Jersey . -- Colin Campbell believes that when it comes to video review, the NHL does it right. Colin McCarthy Womens Jersey . - The Tampa Bay Times is reporting Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams was stabbed in the thigh at his home and an arrest warrant has been issued for his brother. http://www.authentictitansshop.com/Bishop-Sankey-Titans-Jersey . -- Billy Donovan cautioned his Florida Gators before the game not to assume Casey Prather would instantly return to form after a two-game layoff. Curley Culp Jersey . - After a fifth-place finish in a World Cup super-G, her third race in three days, Lindsey Vonn used six simple words to sum up where things stand in her comeback from major knee surgery. Craig Stevens Jersey . 10 San Diego State to a 73-64 win over UNLV on Wednesday night. NEW YORK -- Baseball writers could elect a quartet of players to the Hall of Fame for the first time in more than a half-century. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas appeared to be on track to gain election from the Baseball Writers Association of America on Wednesday, and Craig Biggio could join them. The last time four players received the required 75 per cent was in 1955, when Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance all got in. Surprisingly, it was the third ballot appearance for DiMaggio, who fell 81 votes short in 1953 and 14 shy the following year. When he announced his retirement in December 2008, Maddux wouldnt talk about the Hall. "I think theres a lot of good players in there," he said. "Dont really have any thoughts on it." Maddux could break the mark for highest percentage (98.84), set when in 1992 when Tom Seaver topped the record Ty Cobb set in 1936. "I just have just never come across any human being, whether theyre a voter or just a fan, that doesnt think Greg Maddux is a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest pitchers who ever pitched," The Boston Globes Nick Cafardo said Tuesday. "I cant imagine someone not voting for him. So I would guess that hes going to break Seavers record." Maddux is among three high-profile players on the BBWAA ballot for the first time, joined by his former Atlanta teammate Glavine and Thomas. Holdovers include Biggio, who topped voting at 68 per cent last year, 39 votes short of the 75 per cent needed for election. It was only the second time in four decades the BBWAA failed to elect anyone. Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, a former reporter for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, said Tuesday the only player he voted for was Jack Morris, on the writers ballot for the 15th and final time after falling 42 votes shy last year. "To me, I didnt exclude Maddux. I excluded everybody from that era, everybody from the Steroid Era," Gurnick said. "It wasnt about Greg Maddux, it was about the entire era. I just dont know who did and who didnt." Gurnick said Morris also was the only player he voted for in 2013 and added he intends to abstain in future elections. "Some people quibblle over when the era starts, but the bulk of his career was in my opinion well before all of the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs," Gurnick said.dddddddddddd Given that 569 ballots were submitted in 2013, Maddux likely could be omitted from six this year and still break the record set by Seaver, who received 425 of 430 votes. Seaver was left off by Paul Hagen of the Philadelphia Daily News, Bob Hertzel of The Pittsburgh Press and freelance writer Bob Hunter. They all submitted blank ballots to protest the decision by the Hall of Fame board of directors to bar Pete Rose from the vote because of his lifetime ban from baseball following a gambling probe. Retired writers Deane McGowen and Bud Tucker also did not vote for Seaver. "If it had cost Seaver anything, yeah, I probably would regret it at some level, but it didnt really cost him anything," Hagen, now with MLB.com, said Tuesday. "He still got the highest vote (percentage) total ever, and he wouldnt have been unanimous anyway." The Steroids Era has impacted the vote totals of players with stellar statistics. In initial appearances last year, Mike Piazza was at 57.8 per cent, Roger Clemens at 37.6, Barry Bonds at 36.2 and Sammy Sosa at 12.5. Mark McGwire received 16.9 on his seventh try. The Baseball Think Factory website compiled votes by writers who made their opinions public, and with 194 ballots had Maddux at 99.5 per cent, followed by Glavine (95), Thomas (90) and Biggio (78). The websites count had Piazza (69), Morris (61) and Jeff Bagwell (58) falling short along with Tim Raines (54), Bonds (42), Clemens (41), Curt Schilling (37) and Mike Mussina (26). McGwire (11) and Sosa (
had little support. Approximately 600 writers who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years at any point considered the 36-player ballot. Next years ballot could be even more crowded when Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield become eligible, five years after their retirements. The BBWAA last month formed a committee to study whether the organization should ask the Hall to change the limit of 10 players per ballot. ' ' '
