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April 8, 2014

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Home » Sports » Golf

Thompson makes major splash

TEENAGER Lexi Thompson won the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Rancho Mirage, California, on Sunday, to deny Michelle Wie the win she was seeking to snap an almost four-year winless drought on the USLPGA Tour.

The 19-year-old American Thompson fired a closing four-under 68 for a 14-under par total of 274 in the US tour’s first major of the season.

That gave her a three-stroke win over Wie, who finished with three bogeys in the final round en route to a one-under 71.

“I worked my life to win a major. This was my main goal,” Thompson said. “Overall it was a pretty solid week. This tournament is special to me.”

Thompson becomes the second youngest winner of a women’s major championship.

Having held a share of the third-round lead, Thompson clinched victory with a 30-centimeter putt on 18.

She celebrated with a jump into the water hazard next to the 18th green with her caddie and entourage in tow. The leap into Poppie’s Pond is a tradition at the Palm Springs-area tournament.

“I have always visualized jumping into that pond,” she said.

Wie, 24, made it easy for Thompson as she finished with three bogeys, including on the par-three No. 8 and the par-three 17. Wie had four birdies to shoot one-under on the day and finish with a 11-under 277 total.

“I couldn’t get anything going,” she said.

Wie has failed to live up to the early hype in her career. She has two career wins on tour but none since the 2010 Canadian Women’s Open.

World number one and last year’s winner Park In-Bee stumbled to a three-over 75, falling to 38th at four-over 292.




 

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