Annie Park wins PHC Classic at Brown Deer.
Park wasn’t expecting to rebound early on
Midway through the back nine at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course on Sunday, the last thing Annie Park was thinking about was winning the inaugural PHC Classic.
She’d just bogeyed the 13th hole to go to 3 over par for her round and trailed leader Lee Lopez by five shots. She was thinking more about her exit strategy than her shot strategy.
“Oh, man,” Park said. “Honestly, I was not playing well. My putting was horrific. I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to get this back together.’ ”
Three hours later, she was holding the trophy and an oversized cardboard check for $15,000.
“I don’t even know what’s going on right now,” she said.
Park, 20, of Levittown, N.Y., birdied three of the last five holes in winds that gusted to more than 30 mph and then beat Lopez with a birdie on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff to claim her second Symetra Tour title in six starts.
Park, a rookie on the developmental tour, also won the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic on July 19. The 2013 NCAA individual champion left Southern Cal after her junior year and turned pro.
“I’ve been playing constantly since March, so I’m pretty worn out,” she said. “This is pretty unexpected.”
She shot an even-par 72 and finished at 5-under 211.
Lopez, of Whittier, Calif., took a share of the lead into the final round and made the turn in even-par 36 after birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. But bogeys on Nos. 10, 13 and 14 led to a 75 and opened the door for Park.
“It was definitely harder in the wind, but I think that’s what made it a lot of fun,” said Lopez, who made a nice par save from behind the 18th green to force the playoff. “We don’t get a lot of days like today, so it’s a great learning experience. I played really good golf all week, and Annie played great today.”
Park and Lopez played No. 18 three more times before Park was able to make a 10-foot birdie putt from above the hole for the victory. The putt was on the same line as a 5-footer she missed 15 minutes earlier.
“I just read too much break on the shorter putt, so the last putt I tried not to make the same mistake,” Park said. “These are some of the fastest greens I’ve ever putted on. They’re like U.S. Women’s Open greens.”
Lopez earned $9,295 for her runner-up finish.
Nontaya Srisawang (73) and Elizabeth Nagel (76) tied for third place at 1-under 215.
“I think this is a great event for a first-year event,” Nagel said. “I’m impressed with all the people who came out on a hot day.”
Allyssa Ferrell of Edgerton shot a 77 and tied for 41st place at 223.