Lewis’ windfall spells good fortune for Harvey victims
PORTLAND: Stacy Lewis picked the right time to break out of a slump and the end of her winless drought will bring a windfall to the flood victims in her hometown of Houston.
The American golfing star had promised earlier in the week to donate her prize money to the Hurricane Harvey relief effort.
Lewis earned her first LPGA Tour title in three years on Sunday at the Portland Classic, firing a closing round of 69 to defeat Chun In-gee by one stroke.
Lewis did it by playing steady golf down the stretch. She posted four birdies, two pars and a bogey over her first seven holes but then parred the final 11 holes to finish with a total of 20-under 268.
“That’s unbelievable,” said Lewis, of her US$ 195,000 (RM832,747) winner’s cheque.
“When I said that I had the goal of winning the tournament, you have got to get a lot of things right, to go your way. We’re going to be able to help rebuild houses and get their homes back. That’s more important than anything.”
Hurricane Harvey has killed at least 50 people and unleashed massive flooding that damaged up to 50,000 homes in Houston.
For In-gee it marked another runner-up finish in 2017. She shot a six-under 66 while Thailand’s Moriya Jutanu-garn (72) and American Brittany Altomare (69) finished in a tie for third, six shots adrift of the lead.
Lewis moved to Houston at a young age and her husband is the golf coach at the University of Houston.
In-gee can’t shake the bridesmaid label as she finished second for the fifth time in 2017.
“Stacy’s play was good, too. I really enjoy playing with Stacy. I know Stacy had a little hard time before, so I want to give to her big congratulations.”