Dana Open Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Linn Grant dominates in first LPGA victory, U.S. Women’s Open champ Allisen Corpuz finishes second

Clarkwin — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 05:28:04 +0000

Sweden’s Linn Grant has reason to smile after collecting her first victory on the LPGA. NurPhoto

Linn Grant won her first LPGA event Sunday at the Dana Open, winning at Highland Meadows Golf Club with a closing three-under 68, good for a three-stroke victory at 21 under par. Here’s how Grant, 24, won in Sylvania, Ohio.

Leaderboard: Grant (-21), Allisen Corpuz (-18), Lindy Duncan (-15), Xiyu Lin (-14), Stephanie Kyriacou (-14)

What it means: The heralded Swede announces her arrival on tour, winning in her fourth stateside start since becoming a tour member in 2022. Due to the United States COVID-19 international travel policy, Grant couldn’t travel to the county last year during her LPGA rookie season. Instead, she spent most of the year dominating the Ladies European Tour with four victories on the circuit. Grant maintained her LPGA card for 2023 in only six starts, including four top 10s and made her tour debut in the U.S. with a third-place finish at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play in Las Vegas in late May.

How it happened: Grant effectively won the championship Saturday. She broke away from the field with a third-round nine-under 62, the Dana Open’s best score of the week.

The Swede was nine under through 13 on the par-71 layout, holding a chance to join compatriot Annika Sorenstam as the two players to shoot 59s in tour history. Instead, Grant went even over the final five holes to walk away with a six-stroke lead at 18 under par going into the final round.

Grant started slowly Sunday, parring her first seven holes until missing the green on the par-3 eighth. Sitting in the rough behind the green, Grant chipped in for her first birdie of the day to move to 19 under par.

Another day, another chip-in

Linn Grant has turned on the burners ? pic.twitter.com/rbZIZVVVjc

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 16, 2023

Despite a five-way tie for second place behind Grant to start the final round, only two players got to within four of Grant’s lead Sunday. Minjee Lee, who began seven back at 11 under par, entered the picture with a four-under charge through her first 10 holes. However, a double bogey on the 11th pushed the Australian out of contention. Lee ended up with a one-under 70 Sunday to finish at 12 under for the week and a T-7 result.

Allisen Corpuz birdied four of the last five holes to bring the American within two sitting in the clubhouse, posting a bogey-free six-under 65 to finish the week at 18 under par. Corpuz showed no weariness despite playing only a week after winning the U.S. Women’s Open, along with the travel issues she faced from Monterey, Calif., to Highland Meadows.

However, Grant displayed no nerves in her close, posting three birdies on the back nine and reaching the par-5 18th in two shots. Her win denied Corpuz from becoming the fifth player to win their first start after winning the U.S. Women’s Open. Meg Mallon last did it in 2004.

The winning moment for our newest star ? pic.twitter.com/ToHTbINmaD

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 16, 2023

Best of the rest: Xiyu Lin posted her third top-five in her last four starts. Her torrid stretch began a month ago at the Meijer LPGA Classic (T-3), then another T-3 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, followed with a T-13 at the U.S. Women’s Open. The Chinese native remains searching for her first career LPGA victory.

Stephanie Kyriacou’s T-4 finish is a new career best for the Australian. Her previous high mark was a T-7 at last year’s AIG Women’s Open. The 2022 LPGA rookie was part of Australia’s runner-up at the International Crown in May, where Kyriacou, 22, went 3-2-0 at the team match-play tournament at TPC Harding Park.

Mia Hammond, a 15-year-old amateur who qualified into the event on Monday, shot 68-68-70-72 for a six-under-par week, ending T-26. She’s a rising sophomore and ranked No. 6 in the Class of 2026 junior rankings.

Biggest disappointment: Lydia Ko sat at T-24 heading into Sunday after opening with a 67-68-72 at six under par. She went out in 42, a challenging eight-over-par start to her final round, culminating with a 78 for the worst round of the day, sending Ko down the leaderboard to T-65. She was assessed seven penalty shots during the round because she played preferred lies on holes where it was not allowed. The No. 3 player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings has yet to finish in the top 30 since her first start of 2023 at the Honda LPGA Thailand.

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WATCH: Gaby Lopez birdies last three holes to capture Dana Open for third LPGA victory

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 05 Sep 2022 07:07:00 +0000

Gaby Lopez of Mexico reacts to her birdie on the 18th green during the final round of the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio. Gregory Shamus

By Jay Coffin
Gaby Lopez stood over a 15-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole of the Dana Open and knew the importance of the moment. With playing partner Megan Khang in tight for a likely birdie on the par-5 home hole at Highland Meadows Golf Club, Lopez understood she needed to make the putt or else there would be playoff in Sylvania, Ohio.

The fiery 28-year-old from Mexico calmly stepped up and drained the birdie putt before letting out a loud “VAMOS” while pumping her fist as she went to collect her ball from bottom of the cup. Lopez made eight birdies on Sunday, including three consecutive on the last three holes, to shoot eight-under 63 and capture her third career LPGA victory.

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“I practised exactly for this moment,” Lopez said. “If the ball rolls over this spot, it’s going in. We got the job done.”

Lopez was well back after 36 holes but shot a Saturday 66 to vault into contention. Still, she started the final round in 11th place and knew she needed to make an early run with the leaders playing well behind her. She quickly made birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, then made another on the par-5 seventh hole to make her presence known.

On the back, Lopez birdied 10 and 13 before closing with the three straight to close her 63, good for an 18-under-par 266 total. She hit her approach to kick-in range on 16 and got up and down from greenside bunkers on the last two holes, both par 5s.

“Today it felt more like a Friday round,” Lopez said. “Having that calmness and having that quiet space is exactly what we’ve been working on. It paid off. It gets more simple when I do that.”

Lopez’ first victory came four years ago at the Blue Bay LPGA in China. Two years ago she beat Inbee Park and Nasa Hataoka in a playoff to win the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Meanwhile, Khang is still in search of her maiden LPGA victory after coming close yet again. The 24-year-old American shot 65-67-64 the last three rounds and made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the front nine on Sunday, but it was still one short. She finished in solo second place.

“There is always a little bit of disappointment, but Gaby played an amazing round as well,” Khang said. “A lot of mixed feelings but I gave myself chances, and just going to take what I learned from this week and carry on for my career.”

The final grouping of the day featured Lucy Li, Lexi Thompson and Caroline Masson. Li, 19, held the lead by a shot to start the day after getting into the field this week via a top-10 finish last week at the CP Women’s Open in Canada.

Li burst on to the golf scene eight years ago as an 11-year-old when she became the youngest ever to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open, held at Pinehurst No. 2. She played a practice round that week in 2014 with Thompson.

Because of two victories on the Epson Tour, Li has LPGA status locked up for next year, although that does not give her status for this year. So she’s had to rely on a combination of exemptions and performance.

Li didn’t have her best on this Sunday at the Dana Open and made one birdie and 14 pars in the first 15 holes, while most of the rest of the field was taking advantage of the softer conditions. Still, she birdied the final hole to shoot 70 and tied for fourth place, three shots behind Lopez. Her top-10 finish exempts her into next week’s Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati and she’s already received a sponsor’s invite the following week for the Portland Classic in Oregon.

“I played good all week,” Li said. “I hit it good today, just some of the putts wouldn’t fall. It was a good, solid week. I tried my best and that’s all I can control.”

Meanwhile, Thompson had another final-round disappointment. She started the day only a shot off the lead and parred each of the first 14 holes, then closed with three bogeys and a birdie to shoot two-over 73. She tied for 16th place and was the only player inside the top 40 who shot over par in the final round. Thompson was hoping to grab her 12th career LPGA title but her first since 2019.

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