LPGA 2010 season comes to an end; Maria Hjorth wins the Tour Championship
Maria Hjorth won the LPGA Tour Championship on Sunday by posting a final round 72 at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Florida. The course which would have been very difficult since only six of the 120 players finished under par was the platform to
Hjorth’s success. The player posted three birdies and three bogies in the last round and finished at 5-under 283 for the tournament. Maria had the highest winning score of the whole season with Paula Creamer’s record of a 3-under-par victory at the U.S Open
at Oakmont.
Not only was the course difficult, the winds and the chilly weather made it very hard for the players to compete. Despite wearing jackets and earmuffs, the players needed extra strength to cope with the weather. The leader of the first two rounds, Amy Yang,
shot a 74 to finish one shot back at second place.
Amy made a birdie putt on the 18th hole from about 15 feet from a ridge as she forced Maria to sink an 8 foot putt which rolled down to make par. As soon as the ball went in, Hjorth raised her arms and expressing her joy at her triumph.
In-Kyung Kim and Cristie Kerr tied for third place with a 2-under 286 for the tournament. Kerr who was in second place of the player of the year award didn’t quite make it to win the honour. However, she is number two on the Rolex Women’s Golf Rankings.
The Tour Championship was important not only because it was the season finale of the 2010 Tour season, but also because it was a deciding factor of many end of the year awards. However, the champions didn’t really shine through at the last event of this
year’s season. Ironically, winning all year long, they seemed to dry out by the time the Tour Championship was held. Yani Tseng, who was leading the Rolex player of the year list with 188 points, won the LPGA player of the year award following the Championship.
The Tour Championship was also a grand event for the Korean player, Na Yeon Choi. Choi topped the money list on the LPGA tour and also claimed the Vare Trophy for the year’s lowest scoring average. Choi posted five birdies and three bogeys in her final round
to tie for fifth place. Her points average was 69.96 after playing in 24 events. Following Choi was Cristie Kerr with an average score of 70.03.
Posting a 2-under 70 on Sunday, the 23 year old collected $56,608 and made her years total $1,871,166. This is second time a Korean player has topped the money list. Last year it was Jiyai Shin who took the honour. Even though Shin didn’t top the money list,
she made it to top of the Rolex rankings and is currently number one in women’s golf.
Choi, however, was delighted by attaining those two honours. She was in close contention with the American Kerr for the Vare trophy and the only way she would have taken the trophy was if Kerr finished three shots ahead of Choi.
“I am very satisfied with my season,” Choi said. “The Vare Trophy is what I wanted to achieve most in the LPGA. It is really meaningful for me. Honestly I wanted to get the Vare Trophy more than the Player of the Year award. I was concerned a lot about Kerr’s
play. Especially when I recorded my first bogey on the seventh in the final round, I was nervous. But as I was able to win with a margin of less than three shots between me and Kerr, I only focused on my play,” added Choi.
Overall, the exciting season finally came to an end. The players who are now eligible for the next season will now devote all their time to practice to be in a good shape for the 2011 LPGA season.
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