American Corpuz wins US Women’s Open
American Allisen Corpuz scored her first LPGA victory in dramatic fashion on Sunday, shooting a three-under 69 to win the US Women’s Open by three strokes. The 25-year-old from Honolulu shot 72 holes at Pebble Beach in nine-under 279 to beat England’s Charley Hull, who shot a final-round 66, and South Korea’s Shin Ji-yai, who shot a 68.
“It’s surreal. This week felt like a dream come true,” Corpuz said. “It was great to be out at Pebble this week.” Japan’s Nasa Hataoka, the 54-hole leader, shot a 76 to tie for fourth at 285 with American Bailey Tardy, while Japan’s Ayaka Furue and South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo tied for sixth at 286.
Corpuz shared a sizeable lead at the Chevron Championship earlier this year before settling for fourth, citing the promise he made at the iconic California beach course, where legends such as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have lifted trophies. “I’ve played a little conservative in the past and I just told myself I had played today,” Corpuz said. “Sometimes he’s a little nervous, but he’s very comfortable.”
The turning point came at the par-3 12th when the Corpuz leader burst out of a bunker and holed a 16-foot par putt, while Hataoka missed a 5-foot par putt moments later to get within two feet of the American. Hull sank a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-5 16th to pull within two at 6 under, and Hataoka made bogey on 14 to fall back. Corpuz responded moments later by sinking a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-5 14th, and when he added one from four feet on 15, he was 10 under and four shots ahead of Hull.
Published in EDP BLOGS on Jul 10,2023.
