Park strolls, Ariya and Davies second
PHOENIX: South Korea’s Park In-Bee stormed to victory in the LPGA Founders Cup on Sunday, firing a bogey-free fiveunder par 67 for a five-stroke triumph.
Park, a seven-time major champion, birdied four straight holes on the back nine and finished with a 19-under total of 269.
England’s Laura Davies, 54, headed a group sharing second on 274, her bid to become the oldest winner of an LPGA title ending with a final-round 69 at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona.
Davies was tied with Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, who closed with a two-under 70, and American Marina Alex, who carded a 68.
Park captured her 19th LPGA Tour title, and her first since March 2017 at the HSBC Women’s Championship.
She teed it up this week for just the second time since a seven-month break, during which she contemplated retirement.
“It feels great, especially after the long break I didn’t know how I’d be able to compete,” Park said. “Being able to contend and win is a great feeling.”
Park played the weekend without a bogey. She was in the lead after a 63 on Saturday, and opened with a birdie at the first.
She then parred her next 10 holes as Davies pulled to within one stroke.
But Park pulled away with birdies at 12, 13, 14 and 15 to take command.
She moved into a tie for 28th on the alltime LPGA wins list and now has a win in six of the last seven seasons. The year she didn’t win — 2016 — was the same year she won Olympic Gold in Rio de Janeiro.
For world No.7 Ariya, this was her third top-10 finish in five tournaments so far this year.
The 22-year-old Thai had a mixed front nine which saw her shoot two birdies and two bogeys to remain on 12 under at the turn. She picked up two more birdies on 11 and 15 to finish on 274 overall.