The Associated Press

SYLVANIA, Ohio - Se Ri Pak became only the eighth player to win the same LPGA tournament four or more times, struggling at times during an even-par 71 Sunday to hold off Hee-Won Han and Marisa Baena by two shots to win the Jamie Farr Kroger Classic.

"I always play better on the weekend," Pak said. "Starting the engine - I always have trouble doing that."

Actually, she shot a 2-under 69 in the opening round and a 4-under 67 in the second. But it was her 7-under 64 in the third round that gave Pak the lead heading into Sunday.

Her final round wasn't a vintage performance. Pak double-bogeyed the 16th hole to fall back into a tie with Han before taking command by chipping to 4 feet for a birdie on the par-5 17th. She was able to salvage par on the final hole to close out the win, worth $150,000.

Pak has become a fan favorite in the Toledo area. She credited the crowd for the win.

"This tournament is always exciting and always something special," she said after a large crowd showered her with cheers. "The reason I won this week is all the people in this city who love me. They gave me the power to win."

As a rookie in 1998, Pak shot a 61 in the Farr to set an LPGA scoring record that has only been exceeded by Annika Sorenstam's 59 in 2001.

In addition to the 1998 Farr, Pak also won the tournament in 1999 and 2001 to give her the title in four of the last six years.

She began the final round with a one-stroke lead over fellow South Korean Han, who won the Wendy's Championship for Children last week. Despite playing the front side in 2-under, Pak's margin was still just a shot at the turn.

She parred the first four holes on the back nine while Han had two bogeys. Pak still led by two strokes after a bogey at No. 14 and a par at the 15th hole.

At the par-4 16th, Pak pushed her drive into the right rough and punched out with a pitching wedge short of the trap on the left side of the green. She chunked a wedge shot, knocking the ball into the trap. After blasting out of the bunker, she failed to hit the putt and dropped into a tie with Han. "I put a little pressure on myself," Pak said. "I was struggling off the tee."

At the 17th, Pak was in the fairway with her drive and hit her second shot just short of the green into the left rough. She chipped up to 4 feet and rolled in the birdie putt that proved to be the difference.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Jim Thorpe rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to overtake Bob Gilder and win the Long Island Classic at East Meadow, N.Y.

The victory, worth $225,000, ended a 42-tournament drought for Thorpe, who now has six wins in his fifth year on the Champions Tour. He shot a 3-under 67 in the final round to finish with a 54-hole total of 15-under 195.

"I knew my game was sharp today and that Gilder was going to be a tough competitor," Thorpe said.

Gilder wound up with a bogey-free 66 for a 196 to finish second. He missed a chance to force a playoff by missing a 6-foot birdie attempt on the final hole, and settled for a tap-in par.

"I seemed to make all the putts I needed except the last one," Gilder said. "Jim made shots when you needed them and his birdie on the 17th was big."

RUSSIAN OPEN: Australia's Marcus Fraser made par on the second playoff hole to beat Austria's Martin Wiegele and win at Nakhabino, Russia.