Ross D. Franklin Associated Press Stacy Lewis acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green after winning the LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix on Sunday. She became the second American to top the world rankings that began in 2006.

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Lewis rallies for victory, replaces Tseng at No. 1

Published: Monday, Mar. 18, 2013 - 12:00 am | Page 2C

PHOENIX – Stacy Lewis won the LPGA Founders Cup on Sunday to jump to No. 1 in the world, taking advantage of Ai Miyazato's collapse on the 16th hole.

A day after Lewis was penalized two strokes for her caddie's blunder on the short par 4, the American took a two-stroke lead with a birdie on the hole after Miyazato made a double bogey following an errant approach shot that left her with an unplayable lie in a desert bush.

Coming off a victory two weeks ago in Singapore, the 28-year-old Lewis won for the seventh time in her LPGA Tour career to end Yani Tseng's 109-week run at No. 1.

"It's crazy," Lewis said. "That was my goal kind of since the middle of last year, and I really didn't think it would be possible this quick. … I'm going to have fun, I know that. I watched Yani struggle with it for too long, and I'm going to go have fun."

Lewis closed with an 8-under-par 64 at Desert Ridge to finish with a tournament-record 23-under 265 total. She won the 2011 Kraft Nabisco for her first tour title and has won six times in her last 23 events.

Miyazato finished second, three strokes back after a 71.

Forced to wear a back brace for 18 hours a day for six years as a teen because of scoliosis, Lewis is the second American to top the rankings that began in 2006. Cristie Kerr was No. 1 for five weeks over three stints in 2010.

"Almost 10 years ago, I was having surgery," Lewis said. "I was going into surgery to put a rod and five screws in my back."

PGA Tour in Palm Harbor, Fla. – The climb to the 18th green at Innisbrook was nothing compared to the journey that brought Kevin Streelman his first PGA Tour victory.

He burned up three cars driving some 400,000 miles across the country playing the mini-tours. He cleaned clubs during the week and caddied on the weekends.

His biggest claim on tour was winning $1 million from a bonus competition called the Kodak Challenge. His last win was five years ago in the club championship at Whisper Rock. Streelman won the Tampa Bay Championship on Sunday in his 153rd start on the PGA Tour.

The way he played over the weekend on the tough Copperhead course – particularly the back nine – made it seem he had done this many times.

"Always had a dream of getting here," said Streelman, a 34-year-old American. "And so to get this is the culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of time spent late into the evening and getting up early in the morning. And it's really a dream come true."

Streelman took the lead for good with a 5-iron into 6 feet on the par-3 13th, the toughest at Innisbrook on the final day, for a birdie.

"Probably the best shot of my life in that situation," he said. "It's just how I envisioned it, and I pulled it off."

Boo Weekley, who teed off three hours before the leaders, had a tournament-best 63 and waited to see if that would be enough. He kept up hope until Streelman made a birdie on the 17th, then ripped another tee shot down the middle on the 18th.

The victory sends Streelman, who finished at 10-under 274, to the Masters next month for the second time.

Champions Tour in Newport Beach – David Frost won the Toshiba Classic, shooting a final-round 65 to defeat Fred Couples by five strokes and tie the tournament record of 19-under 194 set by Jay Haas in 2007.

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