LOS ANGELES: Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura combined to fire an 11-under 59 in Saturday’s final-round four-ball to win the LPGA’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Michigan by six strokes. America’s Clanton and Thailand’s Jasmine opened the day at Midland Country Club with a five-stroke lead. They both bogeyed the opening hole, but from there they were off and running, putting 12 birdies on their team scorecard on the way to a 27-under par total of 253.
They were six strokes clear of South Korea’s Ko Jin-young and Australian Minjee Lee, who posted a 58.
Thai sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and South Korean duo Choi Na-yeon and Jenny Shin both posted 61s to share third on 260.
Jasmine notched her second LPGA title while Clanton won her first — punching her tickets to the upcoming major championships the Evian Championship in France and the Women’s British Open.
“I couldn’t even dream up to have won a Symetra event earlier this year and then to come out and win with Jasmine,” said a delighted Clanton, who birdied four straight to help the team pile up six straight birdies from the 12th through the 17th holes.
“It’s so funny, this is the tournament that I wanted to come and play in. I was like, ‘Team event, I’m in, let’s go.’
“So, I’m blessed for the opportunity, I’m blessed that Jasmine came and let me come play with her.”
Jasmine, who won her previous title at the 2018 Marathon Classic, called it “pretty awesome,” adding that the four-ball format, in which both players complete each hole and the best score counts, made for a fun day.
“I like this kind of format,” she said. “You’ve got two chances on each hole. You’re just trying to go for it and make some birdies. That’s the best thing you can do in golf.
“You know that you have two opportunities each hole to make birdie, that keeps things fun.”
The Thai, whose maiden victory last year came after a career-threatening broken back in 2016, was especially pleased with her performance on the greens.
“I’ve been working hard with my game and every week is getting better with my irons and everything. It’s just only the putts didn’t come yet.
“So it’s a good feeling that I can actually make some putts or really important putts just to keep it going and make my partner feel like, ‘Yeah, I’ve got your back.’” — AFP
Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational
Final scores
253 - Cydney Clanton/Jasmine Suwannapura (USA/THA) 67-64-63-59
259 - Ko Jin-young/Minjee Lee (KOR/AUS) 67-66-68-58
260 - Ariya Jutanugarn/Moriya Jutanugarn (THA) 70-65-64-61, Choi Na-yeon/Jenny Shin (KOR) 68-64-67-61
261 - Brooke Henderson/Alena Sharp (CAN) 65-66-69-61
262 - Megan Khang/Annie Park (USA) 72-62-67-61, Kim Kaufman/Kris Tamulis (USA) 69-62-70-61, Chun In-gee/Lydia Ko (KOR/NZL) 69-63-68-62, Ji Eun-hee/Kim Hyo-joo (KOR) 68-64-68-62, Paula Creamer/Morgan Pressel (USA) 66-64-69-63
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