LPGA, HSBC Women’s Champions. Stacy Lewis Wins

 

 

 

 

Stacy Lewis

On the LPGA Tour, Stacy Lewis returned to her winning ways at the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore at the Sentosa Golf Club, with a -15 under par score. The Rolex Player of the Year held on to win her first Victory of the 2013 season, a one shot win over Na Yeon Choi, at -14 under par. The final few holes were a tough stretch for Stacy as she watched her three shot lead evaporate to just one as she stood on the 18th tee at the  The Serapong Course. Stacy had unfortunately bogyed 15 and 17, but managed to hang on with a par at the last following a great drive and a second onto the green at the par five, both eagle and birdie putts missed, but pat was good enough for the Title.

Stacy said afterwards that she had played the last all week as a three shot hole;

“All week, I played it as a three-shot hole, laying back short of the bunker and then laying up from there. And I saw where Paula Creamer hit her drive past the bunker and I turned to my caddie, and we both at the same time said driver, and I let it rip and that thing got so far down there.  I think I was actually in between a 4-iron and a hybrid. So we erred on the long side and hit hybrid up on the green, and I thought I made my second putt, but just to have an inside ten feet for birdie, that’s all I was asking for. The last four or five holes, I was pretty nervous, I’m not going to lie, that golf course is hard and it can jump up and get you at any second, and to have to play with two great players on your tail all day, and they played unbelievable, and none of us really, we just couldn’t get any putts to fall on the back nine.  I don’t know what it was.  Edges just seemed a little bit tighter.  Paula had a couple on the edge. I don’t know, I just played hard and put my head down and tried to make as many putts as I could, and fortunately I came away with the win.”

Stacy is projected to move back into the No. 3 spot in the Rolex Rankings, but both she and Na Yeon Choi can now see Rolex Rankings No. 1 Yani Tseng is within reach.

Yani thinks it is more fun now they are closer;

 ”I think this is more fun than like only one player play well, like clear-cut, because there is not really a clear-cut No. 1 right now. I think everybody, you know, is a good competitor with each other and motivate each other, and if someone wins, and I feel like, oh, I need to win next week, that kind of motivates.  So, I feel like very excited.”

Paula Creamer finished in third place, at -13 under par, a fine effort  following a horrible car accident she was involved in on Sunday night in Thailand.

Paula was more than happy with her placing;

“Geez, this is much more than what I ever expected, and to have a chance and really have a good chance to win this event, it felt good. It was nice to be in contention and have just a good attitude out there.  I think that’s the biggest thing that I take away from this week.”

Ricoh British Women’s Open, Jiyai Shin of South Korea Wins

Jiyai Shin 

Hearty congratulations to Jiyai Shin of South Korea, she produced one of the finest performances of her illustrious career when she defied atrocious weather to close with a battling one over par 73 and claim a domineering nine shot victory in the 2012 Ricoh Women’s British Open at a wet and windswept Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Her easy cruise to victory  means that for the first time in golfing history Asians have won all four of the women’s Majors in a single calendar year with South Korea’s Sun Young Yoo winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship, China’s Shanshan Feng claiming the LPGA Championship and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi beating the field at the US Women’s Open. There was no other competitor who finished in under par, Inbee Park was alone in second place with a tournament total of even par. Third place went to Paula Creamer of America. finishing with a score of +1 over par.

This Jiyai’s second win at this event, last time in 2008, today she was really happy to be a two-time winner of the trophy;

“I can’t put into words how happy I feel to win the title for a second time. My first win in 2008 changed my life. This week, this win, I think it will change it too.  I said at the start of the week I wanted to play every round in one under par so to get to nine under in this weather on a course as tough as this is incredible. Now I know I can get a good score on any course, I’m pretty sure of that. I can’t tell you why so many Asian players are winning majors at the moment, maybe it’s down to hard work. Maybe it’s luck, or a bit of both.”

Lydia Ko arrived at Hoylake having won this year’s US Women’s Amateur and then followed that up by becoming the youngest ever winner on the LPGA Tour, winning the CN Canadian Open at just of 15 years old. Here at Royal Liverpool she won The Smyth Salver, which is awarded to the leading amateur, putting together rounds of 72, 71, 76 and a last round of 78 for a +9 over par total of 297 and a two-stroke victory over England’s Holly Clyburn.

Lydia said of her first British Open experience;

“I have got the award for the leading amateur and that’s what I wanted after I made the cut. This is my first experience of the British Open, I didn’t play as well as I wanted but I have won the amateur prize so it wasn’t a bad day. It was playing really tough out there, this is one of the hardest courses I have ever played and there were times when the weather made it almost impossible to play.”

LPGA Kingsmill Championship

WinnerJiyai Shin /AP Photo/Steve Helber

Jiyai Shin,of South Korea, celebrates jubilantly after winning the Kingsmill Championship LPGA Tour golf tournament in Williamsburg, Va., Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. Shin won the tournament in a nine-hole playoff battling American Paula Creamer.  The South Korean made a two-putt par on the ninth playoff hole, to beat  Paula and win the Kingsmill Championship, in doing so she ended the longest playoff between two players in LPGA Tour history.

Both Shin and Paula were seeking  their first LPGA Tour victory since 2010, Shin said she was hungry for the win;

” We were so hungry for the win. I can’t believe because I did a hand operation in June and then after that two months I didn’t play. So I feel like I take a little bit long time for the win, but I’m really happy it’s coming quick.”

Shin said she was nervous facing the winning putt;

“I was really nervous with it. But after, when I make that, I was really happy.”

Paula raced her 30-foot first putt which was downhill about 5 feet past the hole, and then missed the one back. Paula said she thought her first putt was good;

” I thought I hit a great putt, the first one, it’s so much faster than the putting green. I felt good over the next one, it was tough because it was one of those dying ones. I can’t take away the way that I played. I played great this whole tournament and I’m going to think about it, but then I’m going to think it over and then I’m going to go and try and win a major. That’s what you want to do.”