Lee captures shortened LPGA event
NASSAU, Bahamas: South Korea’s Lee Il-Hee captured her first LPGA title on Sunday, firing a five-under par 42 over a 12-hole round to win the weather-hit Pure Silk Bahamas Classic by two strokes over Irene Cho.
After a bogey-free final round, Lee finished on 11-under 126 for 36 holes played in three 12-hole rounds due to course flooding.
She foiling American Cho’s bid for her first LPGA triumph after a seven-under 40 in the final round.
Until a third-place finish earlier this month at the Kingsmill Championship, Lee’s best LPGA showing was a share of fourth at last year’s US Women’s Open. “I can’t believe it,” Lee said. Severe winds and rain nagged players over the last round, which was needed to reach the minimum 36 holes that made the tournament official.
“It was tough to play,” Lee said. “It was blowing hard. And rain too. It was tough.”
LPGA officials came up with the 12-hole, three-day format to salvage what had been planned as a 72-hole event. The course was flooded Tuesday by a severe storm that dropped more than a foot of rain, dooming hopes of playing Thursday.
The par-3 fourth hole was dropped Sunday in favor of the once-flooded par-5 18th, changing the layout from a par-45 to a par-47 makeshift layout using six holes from each of the Ocean Club’s front and back nines.
Lee, 24, opened with three birdies in a row and added another at the eighth, a tap-in birdie, to reach 10-under for a one-stroke lead over Cho with four holes to play.
Lee endured long waits before her tee shot and approach at the oceanside penultimate hole before leaving a long birdie putt four feet short, but she dropped the tensionpacked putt to stay ahead.
Blasting her second shot onto the green at the par-5 final hole just before a heavy rain began, Lee missed an 18-foot eagle putt but tapped in for birdie and the win, which came only when the last group finished to make it official.
Cho opened with a birdie, added another on the par-5 third hole and then eagled the par-5 fifth hole with a stunning approach from the fairway.
Back-to-back birdies at the eighth and par-3 ninth, the latter from 15 feet, and another at the par-5 12th, the course’s usual last hole, put Cho in the clubhouse with the best finish of her career.
“I have no idea (how I played so well),” Cho said. “I was just one shot at a time.”