Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom overcame a mid-round slump to score a 1-up victory over the USA’s Lauren Coughlin and win the LPGA Match Play tournament in Las Vegas on Sunday. The 32-year-old world number 67 dug deep with a gritty display at the Shadow Creek Golf Course to clinch only the second LPGA title of her career.
Sagstrom had looked to be poised to claim an emphatic victory early in Sunday’s final, quickly racing into a 4-up lead after the opening six holes. But her smooth early form disintegrated over the next four holes, and a disastrous performance on the 11th, when she twice mis-hit attempted chips onto the green, allowed Coughlin to make it all square. Coughlin, the 13th seed who had edged Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn in the semi-finals, then sneaked into a 1-up lead on the 12th when Sagstrom’s par-putt lipped out.
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Sagstrom though hit back on the par-three 13th when Coughlin could only make a bogey to put it back to all-square. The next two holes were squared before Sagstrom won what would turn out to be the decisive hole on the 16th, when Coughlin made a double-bogey seven. A superb chip helped Sagstrom save par on the 17th, and Coughlin missed a birdie putt that would have tied it again before the two players parred the 18th.
Sagstrom, who had beaten Angel Yin in Sunday’s semi-finals, blamed tiredness on her mid-round wobble. “I’m exhausted and I bet Lauren is exhausted,” she said after her win. “I’m so tired and I think it really kind of hit my swing there in the middle. I said to (caddie) Shane (Codd), I can do this. I just need to find some sort of feeling to hit some good golf shots again. I just kind of dug deep and was like, oh, well, hopefully it’s not too many holes left. It’s just amazing.”
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