Cristie Kerr rallied from a two-shot deficit in the final eight holes to beat Annika Sorenstam by two shots and win the US$1-million John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic on Sunday.

Lorie Kane of Charlottetown finished 18 strokes behind Kerr in a tie for 42nd.

Kerr shot a final-round 3-under 68 to finish the three-round tournament at 14-under 199, the lowest score since the event moved to Cedar Ridge Country Club in suburban Tulsa in 2004.

Sorenstam, who finished 12 under, had won the event the previous two years as well as in 2002 when it was played at Tulsa Country Club. She shot a 2-under 69 in the final round.

Kerr's 20-foot birdie putt into the centre of the hole on the par-3 15th gave her the lead and she sealed her victory with a 15-footer for birdie on one of the 6,602-yard course's toughest holes, the par-4, 422-yard 17th.

Kerr, 28, a native of Miami, won the Canadian Open in August in London. She now has nine career victories, including three this year, tied for tops on the tour.

Sorenstam tied the course record with an opening-round 64 on Friday, and Kerr moved into contention Saturday with a 10-under 61, the lowest round on tour this year, and took a one-shot lead into the final round.

Sorenstam hit a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole to pull even, and the native of Stockholm traded pars with Kerr until the eighth, when Kerr bogeyed.

Sorenstam went up two shots with a six-foot birdie putt on No. 10, but Kerr recorded consecutive birdies on the next two holes to pull even. On the par-4 No. 12, Kerr's tee shot landed in a fairway bunker but she put her second shot within 14 feet of the pin.

Then came her birdies at 15 and 17. Kerr shot a 31 on the back nine after a 37 on the front.

Lorena Ochoa, who entered the tournament as the tour's top money winner, finished third at 10-under 203 after a 6-under 65.

© The Canadian Press, 2007