The Associated Press

WILMINGTON, Del. - Annika Sorenstam blew away the field over the first 18 holes with a 7-under 64 Sunday to build a six-shot lead, then survived a four-hole meltdown and a late charge by Shi Hyun Ahn to win the LPGA Championship for the second straight year.

Sorenstam closed with a 1-over 72, only her second round over par this year and the same final-round score she had a year ago. She joined Mickey Wright as the only player to successfully defend in three majors. Wright won all four majors back-to-back, and Sorenstam could match that with a victory in the Women's British Open.

Sorenstam won her seventh major championship and her fourth tournament of the year. She finished at 13-under 271 and earned $240,000, pushing her over $1 million for the year.

Grace Park had a fleeting chance to win the second leg of the Grand Slam, getting within three shots late in the round before Sorenstam pulled away. Park closed with a 3-under 68 to finish third at 276.

BUICK CLASSIC: Sergio Garcia won a three-man playoff for the second time in five weeks, holing a 7-foot birdie putt to beat Rory Sabbatini on the third extra hole in Harrison, N.Y. Padraig Harrington was eliminated on the second extra hole at Westchester Country Club.

Garcia, 24, who beat Dudley Hart and Robert Damron last month on the first playoff hole in the Byron Nelson Championship, earned $945,000 for his fifth PGA Tour victory and second on the hilly, tree-lined course.

The Spanish star set up his winning putt on the par-5 18th hole with a 90-yard wedge shot, after Sabbatini left his 70-yard third shot 21 feet short of the hole. Sabbatini's putt finished 3 feet from the hole.

CURTIS CUP: Michelle Wie, 14, helped the United States retain the Curtis Cup with a 10-8 victory over Britain and Ireland at Formby, England. The Americans have won four straight and 24 overall in the biennial amateur competition, which has been played 33 times.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Allen Doyle was declared the winner of the rain-shortened Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am after thunderstorms swept through the Kansas City area the night before, making the course unplayable.

NATIONWIDE TOUR: Brendan Jones won the LaSalle Bank Open title at Glenview, Ill., for his first victory. Oak Hills High grad Brett Wetterich finished tied for sixth, seven strokes back at 9-under 275.

SCOTTISH PGA: Miles Tunnicliff shot a final-round, 4-under 68 at Gleneagles to win by five strokes.