Feng limps to one-stroke victory
Print Edition
FENG Shanshan struggled down the stretch but was able to hold on and post a one-shot victory on Sunday at the LPGA Volvik Championship in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Feng bogeyed two of the last three holes and that opened the door for South Korea’s Park Sung-hyun to force a playoff. But Park shot a par-5 on the 18th hole to tie for second place with Australian Minjee Lee.
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.
The 27-year-old Feng, a bronze medalist for China at the 2016 Olympics, set a tournament record for a 72-hole score. She also relished the victory because it was just her third on American soil. It is her seventh overall LPGA victory.
“I’m really happy that I’m not only playing well in Asia but also in the U.S.,” Feng said afterwards, “and very glad that a lot of the Chinese came out today to actually come and support me.”
While Feng hung on, Park was pleased with the run she made and hopes her performance will 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 didn’t appear to have much of a chance late but Feng’s stumbles helped her close to within one. “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.”
American Lizette Salas (69) and Korea’s Lee Jeong-eun (67) finished tied for fourth, two strokes behind.
Feng will move up to sixth in the Rolex Rankings with the victory.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand skipped this event but remains No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. Ryu So-yeon and Ariya Jutanugarn each could have displaced her this week, but South Korean Ryu (72) finished tied for 56th at 3 under, and Thai Jutanugarn (71) — the defending champion — was 11 under and tied for 21st. Ryu had finished in the top 10 in 11 consecutive events, dating to last season.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
