Eunjung Yi blew a six-stroke lead then hit a 10-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to defeat Morgan Pressel and capture her first LPGA victory on Sunday at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.
Yi began the day with a four-shot lead and birded two of the first three holes to go up six shots.
Pressel pulled even by holing a wedge shot for eagle on the par-5 17th hole.
PHOTO: AP
Yi, from South Korea, finished at 18-under 266 to earn the US$210,000 first prize. She had missed the cut in four of her seven starts this year on tour and her biggest paycheck was just over US$11,000.
Michelle Wie made a back-nine rush to finish at 16-under, tied for third.
Yi closed with an even-par 71 and Pressel had a 67. Wie had a career-best 64 but lost a chance to put extra pressure on the leaders when she misfired while going for the par-5 18th hole in two shots and had to settle for a par.
On the playoff hole, the 18th, both Yi and Pressel drove into the fairway and to the precipice of a steep hill that leads to a creek.
Yi’s drive flirted with the trees that line the left edge of the fairway. Both hit metal woods short of the green, and both hit wedge to the green.
Pressel hit first and her approach came up short to the back left pin location, ending up on the first cut of rough about 20 feet from the hole. Yi hit a lower, harder shot that stopped 10 feet away.
Pressel’s birdie putt held the line and almost fell as it scooted past on the left edge. She then tapped in for par.
After looking over her putt, Yi hit it firmly and — before the ball even settled into the cup — she raised both arms in victory.
Pressel trailed by four shots as she went to the 16th tee. But Yi three-putted for bogey at the 16th after pulling her drive into the trees and then overshooting the green with her approach. Pressel rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the 16th to cut the lead to two strokes.
At the 18th, Pressel had an eagle at the 513-yard, par-5 hole that tied her for the lead.
■KAYMER WINS IN FRANCE
AP, SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, FRANCE
Martin Kaymer of Germany beat Lee Westwood of England in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff on Sunday to win the French Open.
The 2007 Rookie of the Year on the European Tour kept his composure in a dramatic finish to clinch his third title after having missed chances on the last few holes.
Kaymer sank a putt from around 20 feet on the 18th to edge Ryder Cup star Westwood, who sent his approach shot into the water.
Westwood fired the round of the day with seven birdies and a bogey for a 6-under 65 and an overall 13-under 271 to force a playoff with Kaymer.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS