KAHUKU — When the smoke cleared after all the shocking putts and fascinating supporting players intent on breaking through at the first LPGA tournament of 2008, Annika Sorenstam stood alone.

Yet again.

Sorenstam transformed yesterday's SBS Open at Turtle Bay into her 70th LPGA victory. It is one of her sweetest after an injury-scarred 2007 left her winless for the first time in 13 years and reduced to a mystery swing that had the world's greatest female golfer constantly guessing where her ball would go.

"I'm obviously very, very thrilled," said Sorenstam, who has now won her past two starts in Hawai'i — six years apart. "It's great to win tournaments. There's some tournaments that mean a little bit more and they come at a special time. This is one of them, as you know for many reasons.

"I played solid for three days. It's nice to see, for me anyway. I'm hitting some good shots, playing some good golf. It's been a while. That's what I love to do is just play good golf."

Last year officially became a part of history for Sorenstam yesterday. She went into the final round tied for first with Erica Blasberg and refused to blink, let alone allow anyone to pass.

Sorenstam shot 3-under-par 69 on a breathlessly serene Palmer Course to win by two shots over a trio considered diverse even by the LPGA's demanding standards. She also survived a trio of long, speeding birdie-putt "bombs" challengers dropped on her.

Russy Gulyanamitta (gahl-ee-on-a-ME-ta), a 31-year-old Thai who graduated with a degree in industrial engineering a decade ago in Bangkok, was part of both groups. She fired 68 — the lowest round by anyone in the top 10. She sank the last of the "bombs" on the last hole, jumped in the air, laughed out loud and ran to hug the nearest person.

Her $75,867 paycheck is $71,456 more than she has won in 17 previous LPGA starts, spread over the past four years. The 2000 U.S. Women's Public Links runner-up won a Futures event after turning pro in 2001 and led the Asian Tour's Order of Merit three years later.

Laura Diaz and Jane Park both shot 70 to join Gulyanamitta in second. They are a decade apart in age and didn't notice yesterday as they played in the same group on the final day and enjoyed every moment of it, with the exception of matching double bogeys on the seventh hole.

"We had a ton of great play this week," Diaz said. "Annika played incredible. And Jane ... she's just a wonderful young lady and we really enjoyed ourselves out there together. This is a challenging life we lead in the fact that you are competing against other players, but it's nice when you don't feel like that's what's going on. You feel like you're competing with a golf course. That's how Jane and I played today."

Diaz is 29th on the LPGA's career money list, but her only two wins came six years ago. She drained a 20-footer on the 18th for her best finish in four years.

Park, 21, had one top-10 finish in 22 LPGA starts before yesterday — in 2006 while she was still an amateur. She had to return to the Qualifying Tournament after last year's rookie season, when she won $11,000 less than yesterday. She earned medalist honors. It was easy to see why when she rammed in a cross-green, downhill 80-footer on the 15th that had her tied for first at 8-under for a moment.

"I saw the exact line you needed to hit it," Park said. "It was going straight down that line. A good thing was going to happen and I knew it."

The other "bomb" belonged to Momoko Ueda, Japan's new golf darling who played in the final group on the final day of her first tournament as an LPGA member. The 21-year-old got here, bringing along some 40 Japanese media, with a brilliant five-win JLPGA season last year that included a victory in the LPGA's Mizuno Classic.

That gave her a one-year LPGA exemption. She appeared intent on making the most of it when she moved into a share of first at 8-under with a monstrous birdie putt from one end of the 16th green to the other. Before that, Ueda had lived through a Jekyll-and-Hyde round of near-miss birdie putts and gritty par putts between 3 and 12 feet.

But minutes after Ueda joyfully shook her fist to the crowd, Sorenstam stepped over her 4-foot birdie putt and serenely sank it to go to 9-under. No one else got there. She put this one away with a birdie from 24 feet on the next hole, which ranked toughest all three days.

"That was huge," Sorenstam said. "It was one of those putts that I'm going to remember for a long time. It's nice to have a one-stroke lead going into 18. But to have two, especially when it's a par-5, a lot of players had birdies. Coming back like this, it's nice to have a little extra cushion."

Sorenstam, at 37 now 18 back of Kathy Whitworth's record for tournament wins (male or female), was at her dominant best. She hit every fairway and missed just one green in the final round, her only glitch a three-putt bogey at the 11th. She thinks it will be easier for her now.

That is a scary thought for the rest of the LPGA, which she has dominated pretty much since 1995 — the only glitch coming last year. The LPGA and World Hall of Famer has won eight Player of the Year awards and eight more money titles. She is No. 1 on the career money list, going over $21 million with yesterday's $165,000 paycheck.

"Knowing that I'm swinging better again and knowing the desire is there ... those are two key components to play well," she said. "Last year the desire wasn't there and my swing was definitely not there. Now it is."

WHO'S YOUR CADDIE?

Jane Park hooked up with new caddie Shaun McBride at Turtle Bay and attributed part of her career-best showing to the man otherwise known as LPGA player Maria Hjorth's husband.

"Our sense of humor is very similar," Park said. "We're crazy together. I'm not going to lie. After we hit every shot or if we're walking down the fairway we'll talk about anything but golf.

"I think he really got the sense that I needed to think of other things while I'm on the golf course, just to keep me calm. You know? And he's really good at that."

NOTES

Erica Blasberg went into the final round tied for first with Annika Sorenstam and came out with a career-best eighth. That gets her into this week's Fields Open in Hawai'i.

Kapalua's Morgan Pressel closed with 74 to tie for 51st at 218. Turtle Bay's Dorothy Delasin shot 75—221 for 75th.

Stacy Prammanasudh, who will defend her title at Ko Olina Golf Club beginning Thursday, closed with a 69 to move up to 32nd at 215.

First-round leader Kelli Kuehne had the rare honor of shooting low round twice in three days. Kuehne opened with 67, staggered to 79 and rallied with 66 to get a share of 12th with defending champion Paula Creamer.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com.