Feng Shanshan on Sunday struggled down the stretch, but was able to hold on and post a one-shot victory at the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Feng bogeyed two of the final three holes and that opened the door for South Korea’s Park Sung-hyun to force a playoff, but Park shot a par-five on the 18th hole finish tied for second place with Minjee Lee of Australia.
Feng made six birdies while shooting 68 in the final round for a 19-under 269 total. Lee posted eight birdies and one bogey in a round of 65, while Park shot 66 in a bogey-free round.
Chinese 27-year-old Feng set a tournament record for a 72-hole score. She also relished the victory because it was just her third on US soil. It was her seventh LPGA Tour victory.
“I’m really happy that I’m not only playing well in Asia, but also in the US, and very glad that a lot of the Chinese came today to actually come support me,” Feng said.
While Feng hung on, Park was pleased with the run she made and hopes her performance would prompt an upgrade in her play.
“I think all the events I played so far leading up to this event, things weren’t really going well for me,” Park said. “I think I lost a little bit of confidence, but playing well this week, I think I regained my confidence and I’m looking forward to playing the rest of the year.”
Lee’s 65 matched the lowest score for this week’s tournament. She did not appear to have much of a chance late on, but Feng’s stumbles helped her close to within a shot.
“I saw the leaderboard walking up and I was like: ‘Oh, I’m four shots behind with like two holes to go,’” Lee said. “So just tried to play and make as many birdies as I could on the last two holes. I made one.”
Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling, the leader after the first round, finished tied for 16th place on 12-under after a 68.
Kaohsiung-born Candie Kung (73) was tied for 41st place on six-under, three shots ahead of Taiwan’s Chien Pei-yun (73) who was tied for 56th place.
Feng moved up to sixth in the Rolex rankings following the victory.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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