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| ALL SMILES: Japanese Ai Miyazato is kissed by Franck Riboud (L), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Danone and Jacques Bungert, director of the Evian tournament, after winning the Evian Masters Golf Tournament. (AFP |
Japan’s Ai Miyazato completed a stunning weekend performance to claim her second Evian Masters in three years yesterday.
After a bogey-free 67 in the third round, the 26-year-old followed up with a 70 to win by two shots on 15 under par 273 from American Stacy Lewis.
The 26-year-old joins Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam and England’s Laura Davies as a two-time winner - Swede Helen Alfredsson is the only player to have won the title three times.
It was Miyazato’s seventh win on the LPGA Tour, but the first since the Safeway Classic last August for a player who was devastated by her country’s earthquake disaster in March and has already raised thousands for the charity fund.
“The disaster did affect me badly and the people back home are never far from my thoughts,” said Miyazato, who went to school in Sendai which was badly hit by the earthquake.
“But I am beginning to focus better again on my golf.”
Two ahead at the start of the final round, Miyazato produced some pinpoint accuracy with her approach shots and birdied the third, sixth and eighth to move four clear of the field. But with Lewis and then playing partner, Hong Rang, hitting the birdie trail she saw the lead evaporate.
At the 12th, the lead was reduced to one when South Korean Hong made a long putt for birdie and
Miyazato, after her second shot hit a slope and unluckily shot through the green, dropped her first stroke of the round.
But Miyazato hit back and there was a two shot swing in her favour at the 13th.
The tiny Japanese player made a 15 foot putt for birdie, and Hong missed the green and made bogey. Miyazato shed another shot at the short 14th but Hong, with four bogeys in a row from the 13th, and Lewis, who let one slip at the 16th, failed to mount a threat over the final holes.
Lewis, with a 70, finished in outright second place on 13 under par with fellow-American Angela Stanford (71), Japan’s Miki Saiki (71) and South Korean Kim In-Kyung (70) tied for third on 12 under. Hong was another shot back after a 72.
“This was already a very special place for me,” said Miyazato, who collected the 330,000 euros first prize.
Van Pelt leads Hadwin at Canadian Open
Canada: Bo Van Pelt, who is gunning for his second career USPGA Tour title, fired a five-under 65 for a one-shot lead over hometown favourite Adam Hadwin after the third round of the Canadian Open.
American Van Pelt birdied four of his final five holes at the $5.2 million event to reach five-under 205 on the unforgiving Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club course. Hadwin, who grew up just an hour’s drive away from Vancouver in Abbotsford, shot a two-under 68 and is alone in second place at four-under 206. “I felt if I could get one hot nine, I could get in contention,” Van Pelt said. Argentina’s Andres Romero (67) and first-round leader Kris Blanks (69) shared third at three-under 207 after another bruising day in the thick rough at the tree-lined Shaughnessy course.
American John Daly four-putted No. 18 for triple-bogey Friday but rebounded with a solid 67 Saturday. He was in a group of four at two-under with Sean O’Hair (66) and Australians Aron Price (69) and Geoff Ogilvy (70) as just 11 players are under par heading into Sunday’s final round.
The 36-year-old Van Pelt finished with seven birdies and set the nine-hole record on the 7,010-yard course with a 29 on the back nine.