Matilda Castren first Finnish winner in LPGA Tour historical past

DALY CITY, Calif. — Matilda Castren turned the primary Finnish winner in LPGA Tour historical past Sunday within the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, pulling away on the front-nine at foggy Lake Merced and holding off Min Lee by two strokes.

“It’s an enormous honor to be a winner as a rookie, and particularly first one from Finland,” Castren stated. “That’s a extremely massive honor.”

Two strokes behind Lee coming into the ultimate day of the tour’s two-week run on the San Francisco Peninsula, Castren birdied the primary three holes, eagled the par-5 fifth and birdied the par-5 ninth for a front-nine 30. She adopted with eight straight pars and holed a 3-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th for a 7-under 65.

“It’s been a dream of mine to win since I used to be slightly woman, and to see it occur and simply to win, it’s such a tremendous feeling.” Castren stated. “There’s nothing that compares to it. One among my ideas was, `Effectively, I don’t should go to Q-College this fall.’”

The 26-year-old former Florida State received in her fifteenth profession LPGA Tour begin. She completed at 14-under 274 after tying for thirtieth final week within the U.S. Ladies’s Open at close by Olympic Membership.

“I used to be positively nervous, so my mindset was simply getting into pondering one shot at a time, one gap at a time, and see what occurs, and simply making an attempt to benefit from the day as a result of it was my first time within the last group,” Castren stated. “I believed it was nice for expertise it doesn’t matter what occurred. It simply turned out I had an important day on the course and obtained the trophy.”

Lee completed with a 69. She minimize Castren’s result in one with a birdie on the par-5 fifteenth, however dropped a stroke with a two-putt bogey on the par-3 seventeenth.

“I feel I’m taking part in good right this moment,” Lee stated. “Clearly, she performed a lot better on the entrance, so I’m not going to punish myself as a result of it was an important week.”

Lee missed an opportunity to turned the primary participant to observe a Symetra Tour victory with an LPGA Tour win in her subsequent begin. The 26-year-old participant from Taiwan received the Mission Inn Resort and Membership Championship two weeks in the past in Florida on the developmental tour.

“Successful a match it’s important to observe, and it is a nice observe,” Lee stated. “Possibly after couple occasions I can be there.”

Hannah Inexperienced (66) and So Yeon Ryu (67) tied for third at 8 beneath.

Lexi Thompson shot a 74 to tie for thirty fourth at 1 over. Per week in the past at Olympic, she blew a five-stroke lead within the last spherical, taking part in the final seven holes in 5 over to complete a stroke out of a playoff that Yuka Saso received. Saso and Ladies’s Open playoff loser Nasa Hataoka skipped the occasion at Lake Merced.

Michelle Wie West closed with a 71 to tie for40th at even par after lacking the weekend cuts in her first 4 occasions of the yr.