American veteran Juli Inkster has claimed her 31st LPGA title in the storm-delayed Safeway International in Phoenix, Arizona.

And Scotland's Catriona Matthew would not have been unhappy with her closing 69 and the top five finish it gave her.

With a birdie at the final hole, the 45-year-old Inkster shot 67 for a 15-under 273 that secured her the title by two clear shots from Sarah Lee, the tournament leader after the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

The London-born Korean ruined her chances with a 73 that included a double-bogey six at the 14th and a bogey at the 17th.

Another Korean, Aree Song, also shot a closing 73 for third place on 12-under.

Matthew's 69 was one of the best rounds on a wintery day that included a two-hour interruption for a hail and lightning storm, and the Scot finished in a three-way tie for fourth place on 11 under.

It could have been even better for Matthew as she got to within two shots of the lead after a superb run of five birdies over the first 10 holes, but she dropped two shots on the back nine.

With floodlights set up to allow players to finish, Inkster was gifted the outright lead for the first time when Lee failed to get up and down for par from the edge of the green at the short 17th.

But the American made her own luck at the long 18th, chipping to three feet for a relatively easy birdie that secured the two-shot cushion.

A seven time major winner, it was Inkster's first LPGA win since the 2003 Evian Masters in France.

"It has been a long time waiting for this win," said the emotional Californian. "But it makes it very sweet."

World number one Annika Sorenstam saw her chance of winning the title for the third time in a row evaporate with a disappointing third-round 75, but she bounced back in typical fashion with a final-day 66 to finish on seven under 281.

Collated final scores and totals (USA unless stated, Par 72):

273 Juli Inkster 68 68 70 67

275 Sarah Lee (Kor) 65 67 70 73

276 Aree Song (Kor) 64 69 70 73

277 Jeong Jang (Kor) 69 72 66 70, Cristie Kerr 71 68 69 69, Catriona Matthew (Gbr) 70 66 72 69

278 Paula Creamer 67 67 74 70, Young-A Yang (Kor) 68 69 72 69

279 Candy Hannemann (Bra) 68 72 68 71, Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (Fra) 67 71 73 68, Stacy Prammanasudh 68 71 69 71

280 Shi Hyun Ahn (Kor) 70 69 72 69, Nicole Castrale 69 73 70 68, Sophie Gustafson (Swe) 69 70 68 73, Hee-Won Han 71 70 68 71, Rachel Hetherington (Aus) 73 69 66 72, Young Jo (Kor) 70 68 72 70, Joo Mi Kim (Kor) 73 66 73 68

281 Il Mi Chung (Kor) 70 71 67 73, Marcy Hart 68 72 71 70, Birdie Kim (Kor) 69 73 71 68, Michele Redman 66 74 66 75, Annika Sorenstam (Swe) 69 71 75 66

282 Natalie Gulbis 70 73 68 71, Lorena Ochoa (Mex) 67 71 75 69, Suzann Pettersen (Nor) 69 65 74 74, Sherri Steinhauer 72 71 67 72, Karrie Webb (Aus) 70 70 71 71

283 Carin Koch (Swe) 69 68 75 71, Angela Stanford 70 69 71 73, Brooke Tull 67 72 72 72

284 Jean Bartholomew 66 70 75 73, *Esther Choe 69 71 70 74, Jill McGill 74 68 72 70, Reilley Rankin 71 70 70 73, Karen Stupples (Gbr) 67 70 75 72, Sung Ah Yim (Kor) 72 72 68 72

285 Silvia Cavalleri (Ita) 68 69 71 77, Maria Hjorth (Swe) 65 73 73 74, Seon Hwa Lee (Kor) 73 69 75 68, Siew-Ai Lim (Mal) 70 73 71 71, Ai Miyazato (Jpn) 69 70 74 72, Mikaela Parmlid (Swe) 67 71 73 74

286 Michelle Ellis (Aus) 66 74 71 75, Kate Golden 67 71 77 71, Lorie Kane (Can) 73 67 71 75, Young Kim 66 (Kor) 72 78 70, Mi Hyun Kim (Kor) 67 75 70 74

287 Catherine Cartwright 71 72 71 73, Julieta Granada (Par) 68 74 72 73, Soo-Yun Kang (Kor) 71 73 69 74, Christina Kim 72 72 70 73, Candie Kung (Tpe) 68 71 74 74, Heather Young 72 71 72 72

288 Tina Barrett 69 73 74 72, Patricia Baxter-Johnson 73 70 73 72, Brittany Lincicome 70 74 72 72, Alena Sharp (Can) 70 71 75 72, Sae-Hee Son (Kor) 70 72 73 73

289 Soo Young Moon (Kor) 68 70 74 77, Morgan Pressel 72 69 77 71

290 Joanne Morley (Gbr) 74 70 74 72, *Angela Park 71 70 73 76, Nicole Perrot (Chi) 72 72 71 75

291 Kyeong Eun Bae (Kor) 74 69 73 75, Marisa Baena (Col) 74 65 76 76, Allison Hanna 71 73 71 76, Becky Morgan (Gbr) 68 72 73 78

292 Karine Icher (Fra) 72 72 77 71, Meena Lee 71 73 72 76, Jee Young Lee (Kor) 73 69 73 77

293 Johanna Head (Gbr) 69 75 73 76, Katherine Hull (Aus) 73 71 74 75, Sherri Turner 69 75 71 78

296 Kim Saiki 70 71 79 76

301 Danielle Ammaccapane 72 72 76 81