WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Annika Sorenstam’s worst year since she was a rookie offered one last hope Friday afternoon in the ADT Championship when she was among three players desperate to claim the last two spots in the chase for $1 million.

Considering how her season has gone, she might have seen this coming.

Sorenstam pulled a 5-iron into the face of a bunker, blasted over the green and was eliminated in a 3-for-2 playoff at Trump International, ending her year without a victory for the first time since 1994.

“I’ll get over it,” she said tersely. “I’ll be back.”

Just not for the weekend, where the 16 players who advanced to today will start the third round with their scores wiped clean.

Ai Miyazato of Japan saved par with a 7-foot putt on the 17th hole in the playoff and two-putted from 35 feet on the 18th hole for par to secure one spot. The other went to Natalie Gulbis, who also had pars on the two playoff holes.

Mi Hyun Kim had a 2-under 70 and finished atop the leaderboard at 7-under 137, one shot better than Kraft Nabisco champion Morgan Pressel, who switched to a conventional putting grip for the first time in her life and is seeing instant gratification.

The clutch play came from Karrie Webb, who opened with a 76 and was on the verge of going home until she shot 70 with a stunning finish. Webb was a 3 over and hopeful of two-putting from 50 feet to at least get into a playoff. She fell to the ground when her putt dropped into the hole for birdie, qualifying for the weekend.

The quirky nature of this format was best illustrated at the end of the day. When the playoff was over, Miyazato and Gulbis instantly picked up 10 shots on the leader because everyone starts today with a clean slate.

Also in the 16-way tie for first were Lorena Ochoa, Christina Kim, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Sophie Gustafson, Paula Creamer, Juli Inkster, Nicole Castrale, Catriona Matthew, Seon Hwa Lee and Sarah Lee.

TENNIS

Federer tops Roddick

SHANGHAI, China — Unfortunately for Andy Roddick, there’s something about his game that brings out the best in Roger Federer.

Federer overwhelmed Roddick 6-4, 6-2 Friday in a round-robin match at the Masters Cup in which both players were already assured of reaching the semifinals. Federer raised his record against Roddick to 15-1.

“I know that my game matches up well with his, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to beat him all the time,” Federer said. “Andy has been trying many, many different things out against me. It’s dangerous for me to play against him, especially with the guy having such a big serve. Today, I read it well.”

Federer will play No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the year-end tournament for the top eight men in the rankings. Roddick faces No. 6 David Ferrer, who went undefeated in the Gold Group.

Also Friday, No. 4 ranked Nikolay Davydenko, already out of contention with two losses, beat No. 7 Fernando Gonzalez 6-4, 6-3. That eliminated the Chilean from the Red Group.

Federer, the defending champion, landed 83 percent of his first serves, never faced a break point and had 33 winners to just 13 unforced errors. The top-ranked Swiss wrapped up the match in 61 minutes.

Roddick, ranked No. 5, was so frustrated he battered a racket to extinction for the second time in the tournament, bashing it against his left foot five times after Federer broke serve for the third time to pull ahead 3-0 in the second set.

SPEEDSKATING

Wolf breaks record

CALGARY, Alberta — German speedskater Jenny Wolf beat her own world record Friday in winning the women’s 500 meters at the Essent ISU World Cup.

Canada’s Jeremy Wotherspoon won the men’s 500 for his third victory in three races this season.

Wolf was timed in 37.02 seconds at the Olympic Oval, lowering her mark of 37.04 set March 10 in Salt Lake City. Wolf sped through the opening 100 meters in 10.13, also a world best.

China’s Beixing Wang was second in 37.21 and Japan’s Sayuri Yoshii was third in 37.88.

Wotherspoon was the fastest in two 500-meter races at the season-opening World Cup last weekend in Salt Lake City. His time of 34.23 on his home track was two-tenths of a second off the world record he set last week in Salt Lake.

FOOTBALL

Alexander likely to miss Seattle game Sunday

KIRKLAND, Wash.  — Shaun Alexander will not play for the Seattle Seahawks until he’s healthy enough to practice full time.

“We had a talk, and I told him until he can practice the whole week, until he can have a normal week of practice I’m not going to put him on the field,” coach Mike Holmgren said after Friday’s practice that Alexander watched in sweats.

“I tried to explain that running backs — you need to be able to do what you do, and if you’re worried about an injury or something is sore and you can’t make your cuts, you’re really open to more injury. I’m not going to put him on the field until he can do what he does. He appreciated that.”

Holmgren wouldn’t officially say Alexander is “out” for Sunday’s game against Chicago, but did say that backup Maurice Morris would get his second straight start. Morris had 28 carries for 87 yards in Seattle’s 24-0 win over San Francisco last Monday.

Alexander has been hampered all season by a broken left wrist, and added a twisted left knee and ankle to the equation two weeks ago against Cleveland. His injuries have only magnified Seattle’s ineffective running game that has struggled all season and enters this week ranked 21st in the league at just 95 yards per game.