At the Meijer LPGA Classic, Leona Maguire carded a scintillating finish to pick up a second LPGA Tour title, with the Irishwoman six-under-par through her final six holes to secure a two shot win over Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.
Beginning the final day, it was Amy Yang who led the field, with Xiyu Lin and last week’s winner, Ashleigh Buhai, just a shot back. However, out the gates, it was Major winner and Solheim Cup player, Jennifer Kupcho, who made the early running, as the American carded a hole-in-one and three birdies on her front nine to lead.
Kupcho, who was looking to defend her title, struggled on the back nine though, as three bogeys and one birdie meant she finished at 15-under for the tournament and in a share of sixth position.
That meant the tournament was wide open for a player to stick their boot in and, in the case of Yang and Jutanugarn, that’s exactly what they did as they pulled alongside Kupcho, with Jutanugarn making two 2s in the space of three holes in the early stages of the back nine.
It seemed that we were in for a two-horse race between Yang and Jutanugarn but, not long after, Lin also added her name to the frame as she rolled in a birdie putt of her own. What’s more, with five holes to go, Lin took the outright lead with her third birdie in a row.
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We were in for an enthralling finish and, when Maguire eagled the par 5 14th, she joined the leaders at the top of the leaderboard. However, no-one could have predicted the run that the 28-year-old was about to go on, with a par at the 15th being followed by three straight birdies to blow her competitors out of the water.
Holing a huge putt on the 17th, Maguire almost chipped-in on the 18th to set a target of 21-under, a number which nobody could get close to as she picked up her second LPGA Tour title by two shots.
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