It’s unlikely that you will ever find such a dominant two-horse race in the past few years of professional golf, with the Cognizant Founders Cup producing a thrilling finale between Madelene Sagstrom and Rose Zhang.
However, between the two Solheim Cup stars, it was the American who came out on top, as Zhang birdied four of her last five holes to claim a two shot victory over the Swede, Sagstrom, as the two finished a whopping 15 and 13 strokes clear of the chasing pack.
Going into the final round, it was Sagstrom who led at 19-under, one shot clear of Zhang, with the duo 11 and 10 shots, respectively, ahead of their next competitor at eight-under.
It never seemed likely that the chasing pack would contend and, throughout the early stages of the front nine, both Sagstrom and Zhang would chop-and-change the lead, with neither pulling away.
However, at the tail-end of the front nine, Sagstrom would find birdies at the sixth, eighth and 12th to move three clear with just six remaining. Seemingly heading to a second LPGA Tour title, the Swede was in control but, in typical Zhang style, the 20-year-old found birdies at the 14th and 15th to cut the lead down to just one stroke with three to go!
Sagstrom and Zhang on the 18th
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Parring the 16th, Zhang found herself in a share of the lead with Sagstrom, who could only bogey the hole, with the duo all-square heading down the 17th and 18th holes which had produced a range of scores throughout the final round on Sunday.
Playing the par 3 17th, Zhang found a birdie two and, with momentum on her side, she found yet another birdie at the 18th to pick up a two shot win and her first since claiming victory on her professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open in June 2023.
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