Ochoa finishes year No. 1 in women's golf

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Lorena Ochoa's runner-up finish at the LPGA Tour Championship locked up player of the year honors and the 2009 No. 1 ranking.

Ochoa was battling Jiyai Shin, who had already sealed LPGA rookie of the year honors, for low scoring average and the player of the year title going into the 2009 schedule's final event.

Ochoa finished two strokes behind Anna Nordqvist, another tour rookie, while Shin tied for eighth in the rain-shortened Tour Championship, which wrapped up Monday. That result allowed Ochoa to claim her fourth consecutive player of the year award.

It also cemented her place at the top of the LPGA rankings, with Shin at No. 2 in the world and Suzann Pettersen third. Cristie Kerr and Yani Tseng each improved one spot to end up in fourth and fifth places, respectively, in the rankings.

Paula Creamer, fourth a week ago, is sixth and Nordqvist used the Tour Championship title to move up six spots to seventh in the rankings. Angela Stanford is eighth, Ai Miyazato is ninth and Choi Na-yeon completes the year's final Top 10.