SEMMES, Ala. -- Akiko Fukushima two-putt from 50 feet at the 18th green at Magnolia Groves, but Maria Hjorth could not do the same, giving Fukushima the second win of her rookie season Sunday.
Fukushima parred the finishing hole to enter the clubhouse tied for the lead, then watched Hjorth three-putt for bogey at the 18th and hand her the victory at the AFLAC Champions.
"I won tournaments 13 times (in Japan), and on every 18th hole, my hands are shaking," Fukushima said. "So I am used to it. It doesn't bother me now."
Four strokes back of Hjorth to start the day, Fukushima dropped a long eagle putt at the par-5 16th to move atop the leaderboard. Following a par at 17, she lofted her approach short of a ridge guarding the pin at the back right of the 18th green, leaving herself a 50-footer.
Fukushima rolled her birdie putt within 2½ feet and knocked in the par attempt to finish with a 72-hole total of 9-under 279. She fired a 4-under 68 in the final round.
"I tried to putt it hard. I saw it was up a big hill," Fukushima said through an interpreter. "I tried not to make three putts. I tried a big hit to get it there."
Hjorth birdied Nos. 15 and 16 to regain a share of the lead and parred the 17th, needing a birdie at the final hole to clinch the victory. Like Fukushima, Hjorth saw her second shot settle about 50 feet from the pin.
Her birdie try stopped five feet short, and Hjorth never gave her par putt a chance, pushing it well right of the hole to yield the $122,000 first prize to Fukushima.
"I knew it was fairly straight, but if it broke at all it would go right," Hjorth said of her devastating par putt. "I started it right-center or at the right edge, but it had no chance to go in. It's so hard to know how hard to hit it up the hill.
"I knew I had to make the putt for a playoff. I was a little bit nervous, but felt confident with the putt."
Fukushima, a distant second in the rookie of the year standings to Kim Mi Hyun, earned her first LPGA title at the Philips Invitational in May but had seen little success since. She had only one top-10 finish in her last 13 starts.
Hjorth entered the winner's circle for the first time at the Safeco Classic last month. She ended up one shot back of Fukushima after shooting a 1-over 73 in her final round, notching the first runner-up finish of her two-year career.
"I hit pretty bad drives and that's pretty much where I lost the tournament," said Hjorth, who began the day with a three-shot lead. "On this course, if you hit it in the rough, it's tough to get it close to the pin, and you have to get it close to have a chance to make birdie."
Money leader Karrie Webb joined Hjorth at 8-under 280, posting her 15th top-three finish of the year. Webb, who leads the tour with six wins this season, birdied the 16th hole but settled for par at the final two holes and shot 70.
