RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Catriona Matthew, a 39-year-old Scot who is five months pregnant with her second child, won the inaugural HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup by five shots over Kristy McPherson of the United States on Sunday.
Matthew had a 3-under-par 69 on the second day of the 36-hole exhibition tournament to finish at 6-under 138 at Itanhanga Golf Club. McPherson was 1-under after shooting a 72.
“When you play well, you don’t feel tired,” Matthew said. “Maybe tomorrow I will feel it a bit.”
She started her final round with a birdie at the first hole and a bogey on the second but built her lead with birdies on Nos. 5, 6 and 14.
McPherson had four birdies and four bogeys in her round, with two of the bogeys coming on par-5s.
Angela Park finished third in front of her home fans after a 75 left her nine shots back. “I’m not too happy,” she said. “I thought I would be able to play better here.”
The unofficial money event featured a 15-player field and a $500,000 purse.
Perez shoots 69 to win Hope Classic.
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Pat Perez won the Bob Hope Classic for his first PGA Tour title, taking advantage of Steve Stricker’s collapse and holding off John Merrick by three strokes in the wind-swept final round.
Perez finished at 33-under 327. Merrick, who began the day eight shots behind Stricker but moved in front briefly on the back nine, shot a 67.
Stricker, 33-under at the start of play after rounds of 61 and 62, had a 77 to tie for third with Mike Weir (67) at 28-under.
Stricker had a triple bogey on No. 7 and a quadruple bogey on No. 10, hitting into the water on both holes.
The 32-year-old Perez, playing in the final group, locked up the victory by knocking his approach shot from 200 yards on No. 18 to 3 feet to set up an eagle. Merrick, winless on the tour, already had finished his round with a par on 18.
Stricker was 33-under after four rounds, bettering the tour’s 72-hole record of 31-under set by Ernie Els in his victory at the 2003 Mercedes Classic. Stricker’s 61-62 was a low for consecutive rounds; Mark Calcavecchia set the record by shooting 60-64 in the 2001 Phoenix Open, and Perez tied it with his 61-63 start in the Hope.
Footnotes.
Bernhard Langer won the Champions Tour’s season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship in Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory over Andy Bean.
• Spain’s Alvaro Quiros won the Qatar Masters for his third European tour victory, making five birdies on the back nine for a 3-under 69 and a three-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen and Henrik Stenson.
The 26-year-old Quiros will move into the top 30 in the world, wrapping up his first start in the Masters at Augusta National.
The Associated Press
