Ailing Paula Creamer has eyes on LPGA money title

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Paula Creamer will use a pink ball Sunday, her custom for the final round. Odds are, she'll play those 18 holes with a different color in mind: green.

Lots and lots of green, provided she can coax 18 more holes from her ailing body.

Creamer will have a chance to be the first American to win the LPGA Tour's season money crown in 15 years Sunday, when she's one of eight remaining competitors at the ADT Championship at Trump International. All will start tied at par when they embark on an 18-hole shootout for the $1 million winner's prize.

"Money title or not, I want to win this event," Creamer said.

Earlier this week, she wasn't even sure she'd play this event.

She began experiencing sharp stomach pains Wednesday night and they haven't subsided much since. Creamer cut her usual 90-minute warmup to a half-hour to conserve energy, hasn't been able to eat solid food for three days except for nibbling on dry toast and bagels during her round Saturday.

At times during the third round, Creamer would hit a shot, then double over in pain for seconds.

"The best position for me is hunched over," Creamer said. "I'm not a big complainer, but one more day — that's what I keep telling myself."

If Creamer wins the season-ending event that'll probably be best remembered as Annika Sorenstam's presumed finale on the LPGA Tour, not only will she nudge Lorena Ochoa by $41,457 for the title, she'll become the first U.S.-born money champion since Betsy King in 1993.

Ochoa earned $8,000 this week, but didn't qualify for the weekend rounds. A victory would push Creamer just over $2.8 million for 2008; King won $595,992 when she took the cash crown.

Creamer said she would see doctors Saturday night, but promised to be on the tee Sunday morning.

"If I was going to withdraw, it would have been earlier," Creamer said.

Suzann Pettersen put together the best round Saturday with a 4-under 68, shaking off a triple-bogey at the par-4 fourth with almost flawless golf the rest of the way. Pettersen got back to even by the seventh, then ensured her spot in Sunday's field with four straight birdies on holes 13-16.

Considering she made two birdies in the first two rounds combined, an eight-birdie Saturday surely did oodles for her confidence.