Early bogey, double-bogey tangle Webb in Farr finale

Karrie Webb gets out of this trap, but couldn't overcome starting 3-over after three holes.

The shootout between superstar Karrie Webb and rookie Beth Bauer never materialized yesterday at Highland Meadows Golf Club.

Webb and Bauer began the final round of the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic tied for the lead at 10-under-par and in the final pairing.

Webb bogeyed No. 1, then double bogeyed No. 3. She finished with a 1-over 35 on the front nine, but still birdied No. 10 to get within one stroke of the lead. Then her round stalled with six straight pars before she made another birdie at No. 17.

At No. 18, Webb missed a 20-foot uphill birdie putt that could have earned her a second-place tie with Bauer. She finished with a 1-under 70.

“[My round] wasn't that up-and-down, it was just down at the start,” said Webb, winner of 27 LPGA tournaments. “Then I played fairly well to get it back to 1-under for the day. But the damage was done early on and I was playing catch-up golf from there.

“When you get off to the start I got off to, it's hard to come back from that.”

Webb settled for a third-place tie with Laura Diaz at 11-under 273.

“Obviously, I would have liked to have won,” Webb said. “I definitely had a chance to do that. I just didn't come up with the goods today. You don't do it every time when you put yourself in position.”

Webb, who has won one LPGA event this year, had made the cut in 56 straight tournaments before missing it a week ago at the U.S. Women's Open.

“I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out this week,” said Webb, who was second at the Farr in 1999, third in 1998 and tied for fifth in 1997. “I've got things back on the right track.”

She opened with a disappointing 1-over 71 on Thursday, but put together back-to-back rounds of 65 and 66 to tie Bauer for the Farr lead after three rounds.

“The last two days, the conditions were perfect,” Webb said. “There wasn't any breeze really to worry us too much. The course played pretty easy the last two days.”

With Webb 3-over after three holes, fellow Aussie Rachel Teske - playing in the next-to-last group - already was on her way to a round of 6-under 65 and a 270 total that sealed her sixth victory on the LPGA Tour and her second this season.

Teske, who grew up with Webb in Queensland, Australia, had seven birdies and two bogeys yesterday after shooting a 64 in the second round. Teske spent a couple of years as Webb's teammate and traveling companion when they were amateurs.

“It's good to see her win again this year,” Webb said. “She's been playing really well. She's a great player and she went out there and did what she had to do today. I'm glad for her; happy for her.”