Allisen Corpuz made her first LPGA Tour victory a major title.
The 25-year-old Corpuz, from Honolulu and USC, shot three-under-par 69 to capture the 78th Women’s U.S. Open by three strokes over Charley Hull of England and Jiyai Shin of South Korea at famed Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula.
Corpuz joined Michelle Wie West as the only major golf champions from Hawaii in the first U.S. Women’s Open played at Pebble Beach.
“It’s just a dream come true for me,” said Corpuz, who captured the professional 2014 Hawaii Women’s State Open as an amateur. “It’s really an honor to play here at Pebble Beach, let alone win. On a few holes, I was looking out at the water and it kind of reminded me of playing in Hawaii, and it relaxed me.
“There are not many places like this and I just love it. I felt comfortable playing on this course from the beginning and I believe the more I played it, the more at home I felt and the better my game got. I only hope that I can get a chance to come back and play here at Pebble Beach some time in the future.
“I was a little nervous and times, but I’m just happy to get this win for my parents, who were here. My mind is racing. I just want to move on and get better from here.”
Corpuz, the only player in the tournament to post four rounds under par at Pebble Beach, collected six birdies in the final round against three bogeys to record a winning score of nine-under-par 279.
Hull, who has won six times as a pro and twice on the LPGA Tour, eagled the second hole and added six birdies in a 66, while Shin made five birdies and a single bogey at No. 10 while shooting 68.
Bailey Tardy, who led after each of the first two rounds, closed was a disappointing 73 and was six shots behind in a tie for fourth with Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who was in the chase for much of the way before making four bogeys on the back nine in a 76.
Eighth-ranked Hoo Joo Kim of South Korea managed only a 74 and was seven down in a tie for sixth with Ayaka Furue of Japan, who had five birdies in a 69, and Hae Ran Rhu of South Korea, who made her only birdie on the first hole in a 74.
Rookie Rose Zhang of Irvine and Stanford, playing in her third professional tournament, made three birdies and three bogeys in her 72 to wind up 10 strokes behind in a tie for ninth with Maja Stark of Sweden, who had two late birdies in another 72.
Defending champion and sixth-ranked Minjee Lee of Australia closed with a 72 to finish in a tie for 13th that included ninth-ranked Xiyu Lin of China, who had a 73, while fifth-ranked Ruoning Yang of China tied for 20th after a 72, and 10th-ranked Leona Maguire stumbled to a 77 with only one birdie and tied for 31st.
For complete results, visit: https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/us-womens-open/leaderboard
