LPGA Symetra Tour: Esther Choe a rising star
Scottsdale native Esther Choe played surprisingly well in the first event of the LPGA Symetra Tour, Sara Bay Classic, winning the title after she recorded an overall 217.
The inaugural event of the Tour concluded with a flurry of excitement, with several competent players in the field.
However, no player was able to score below 70, as there were several bogeys. Even the winner recorded just one birdie in the final round.
Choe was extremely thrilled when she walked away with the $15000 winner’s cheque, saying that she was confident about her capabilities.
Choe kicked off the tournament with plenty of confidence and grabbed a lead from the second round. Mi Hyang Lee, who bounced back in the final round, stunned her rivals after she made a huge comeback from tie 19 to the second spot on the leaderboard.
Choe, on the other hand, maintained her momentum in the final round as well. Although her last-round score was worse than what she scored in the first two rounds, she still managed to stand firm on top of the leaderboard.
She played in the favourable weather conditions, which analysts said, proved beneficial for most of the players.
They said the weather helped the players make calculated putts — something the winner admitted at the end of the tournament.
The Scottsdale resident posted a 72 in the first round. She further improved her standing in the next round, as she scored a stunning 2-under 70.
The final round entered into a nerve-racking battle, however, due to the considerably huge lead over her rivals, Choe found no trouble keeping the pressure high.
She opened the round in an unimpressive style, as she carded her first bogey on the very first hole. She then parred 5 holes in a row and went for another two straight bogeys on the par-5 7th and the difficult par-3 8th hole.
On the back nine, Choe recorded one bogey and her lone birdie of the round. She came close to birdying the ninth hole on the front nine, but faltered and ended up making a par.
"I should have birdied the ninth hole, but didn't," she said. "That would have given me a two-stroke lead. I got off to bad start on the back and it kind of unraveled from there".
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