Brittany Lincicome entered the final round of the Ginn Open believing that par would be a sensational score.
How right she was.
Lincicome, who started four shots behind Lorena Ochoa and Laura Davies, survived a blustery day and a six-hour round in Reunion, Fla., to shoot an even-par 72 – enough to give the 21-year-old her second career LPGA Tour victory.
She finished at 10 under, one shot better than Ochoa (77) – who was 6 over on her final six holes, a stunning collapse that cost her an opportunity to pass Annika Sorenstam for the top spot in world rankings.
“Third place was going to be a great score,” said Lincicome, the Women’s World Match Play winner last year who was six shots back with 10 holes to play. “I tried to stay patient, and it paid off.”
Only a win would have pushed Ochoa to No. 1, but the Mexican star missed a 10-foot bogey try on the final hole that would have forced a playoff.
“It’s hard to describe,” Ochoa said. “Not meant to be. I tried really hard.”
The 21-year-old Lincicome earned $390,000 for the win and, on a day where only one player – Meena Lee, who shot 71 – broke par, even she couldn’t believe what had transpired.
“When the wind picked up, even par was looking pretty good,” Lincicome said.
Davies (79) had the outright lead with two holes to play, but three-putted her way to double bogey at the 17th and then bounced around bunkers for a disastrous triple bogey at the last. She finished alone in third at 7 under, one shot better than Juli Inkster (72) and Nicole Castrale (74).
Morning storms delayed play for 2 1/2 hours, and once the sky cleared, the wind followed.
“The sand would come out of the bunkers and just hit us,” Ochoa said, tapping her face. “We were talking about how hard the wind needs to blow before they stop play.”
PGA Tour: The final round of the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C., was suspended until today after Harbour Town was hit by strong winds.
The final round was halted because balls wouldn’t remain in place on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes.
European PGA: Austria’s Markus Brier won the China Open, closing with a 4-under 67 for a five-stroke win in Shanghai.
Brier birdied the 18th at the Shanghai Silport Golf Club, to finish at 10-under 274. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell (69), South Africa’s Andrew McLardy (70) and Australia’s Scott Hend (71) tied for second.
