Related News
Woods’ niece wins Australian title
Print Edition
Cheyenne Woods won the Australian Ladies Masters yesterday for her first major professional tour victory, holding off 17-year-old Australian amateur Minjee Lee by two strokes.
The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines in Gold Coast to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours.
Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet. On the par-5 18th, she matched Lee with a birdie, holing out from 1 1/2 feet.
From Phoenix, Woods is the daughter of Earl Dennison Woods Jr, Tiger Woods’ half brother.
Woods turned professional in 2012 after an All-America career at Wake Forest and her only previous pro victory came in 2012 in a SunCoast mini-tour event. In December, she missed the cut in the LPGA Tour’s qualifying tournament in a failed bid to earn a spot on the circuit.
She choked back tears yesterday as she spoke of the significance of winning a Ladies European Tour event.
“This is a huge accomplishment for me,” she said. “The European Tour has been great to be able to play this past year.
“I’ve been able to see all of these great players, play with Solheim Cup members ... to be able to come out here and compete with them and come out on top was huge for me.”
Woods said she had learned to live with the pressure of expectation that came with bearing a famous golfing name.
“I’ve been pro for two years and, for the majority of it, people just think of me as Tiger Woods’ niece so now I have a game of my own and I have a title now, a win, which is exciting,” she said. “It’s nice now to say to people that I can play and I’m not just a name.
“Growing up with the last name of Woods, there’s a lot of expectations and pressure and spotlight on you but I always knew that I was able to win.
“I always knew I’d be able to compete with these ladies so now it’s kind of a weight off my shoulders because now everybody knows not just me.”
Woods’ win earned her 57,000 Australian dollars (US$51,000) in prize money and a two-year exemption on the Ladies European Tour events.
Woods will play next week in the LPGA Tour-sanctioned Women’s Australian Open in Victoria.
South Africa’s Stacy Lee Bregman and Sweden’s Camilla Lennarth tied for third at 12 under.
- 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.
