Kris Tamulis closed with a 7-under-par 65 to claim her first LPGA Tour victory by one stroke over Yani Tseng of Taiwan and Austin Ernst in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic on the Senator Course at Capitol Hill in Prattville, Ala.
The 34-year-old Tamulis, who in 11 seasons on the circuit had never finished better than fourth last year in this tournament, played 29 holes in the rain-delayed tournament on Sunday, making four birdies in the last 11 holes to shoot 67 in round three.
Then she added eight birdies in the final round, in which her only bogey came on No. 7, to win for the first time in 186 LPGA Tour events.
“It was amazing; I was definitely not expecting this today,” said Tamulis, who climbed to 71st in the Race to the CME Globe, with the top 72 qualifying for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November. “I’m just happy to be out there playing. This is crazy.
” … I didn’t even know that I shot 7‑under until I counted my birdies and then subtracted my bogey, which is such a cliche because everybody is always like, ‘Oh, I never knew that I was playing that well.’
” … Honestly, if we would have called it after 36 (holes), I think I was maybe like tied for ninth or 10th. I would be, ‘Great, fine, that’s OK, I get to go home.’ So now it’s even better. Now it’s just like cake.”
Tseng, the former world No. 1 seeking her first victory since the 2012 Kia Classic, finished with a 67 but her only bogeys on the seventh and 12th holes proved to be costly. She lipped out a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have forced a playoff.
Ernst, 23, whose only LPGA Tour victory came last year in the Portland Classic, shot a bogey-free 69, missing a 17-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
Sydnee Michaels of Temecula and UCLA, trying to win on the LPGA Tour for the first time, posted a bogey-free 67 and was three shots back in a tie for fourth with Lexi Thompson, who had a 69.
Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, still winless this season, recorded a 66 that included eight birdies and was five strokes behind in a tie for sixth with Jaye Marie Green, who came in at 67.
Brooke Henderson, the 17-year-old Canadian sensation, closed with a 69 and finished in a tie for 13th that included Tiffany Joh of San Diego and UCLA, who shot 72, and Shanshan Feng of China, who had a 68.
