Stacy Lewis picked the right time to break out of a slump and the end of her winless drought brings a windfall to the flood victims in her hometown of Houston, Texas.
The American star had promised last week to donate her prize money to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort.
Lewis on Sunday earned her first LPGA Tour title in three years at the Portland Classic, firing a closing round of 69 to defeat Chun In-gee of South Korea by one stroke.
Photo: AFP
Lewis did it by playing steady golf down the stretch. She posted four birdies, two pars and a bogey over her first seven holes, but then parred the final 11 holes to finish with a total of 20-under 268.
“That’s unbelievable,” Lewis said of her US$195,000 winner’s check. “When I said that I had the goal of winning the tournament, you have got to get a lot of things right, to go your way. We’re going to be able to help rebuild houses and get their homes back. That’s more important than anything.”
Hurricane Harvey has killed at least 50 people and unleashed massive flooding that has damaged up to 50,000 homes in Houston.
For Chun it marked another runner-up finish this year. She shot a six-under 66, while Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn (72) and Brittany Altomare of the US (69) finished in a tie for third, six shots adrift.
Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung was tied for ninth place on 12-under after a 69, while Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling was tied for 13th a further shot back. Min Lee of Taiwan was tied for 46th place on three-under.
Lewis moved to Houston at a young age and her husband is the golf coach at the University of Houston.
She wrapped up her 12th career victory on the LPGA Tour.
“I knew it was going to be hard,” Lewis said. “I was hitting a lot good shots, a lot of good putts, and they just weren’t going in. To make that up-and-down on 17 and then to hit the shot out of the bunker on 18, it’s something you dream about.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and