Maria Hjorth wins another LPGA title at the Avnet LPGA Classic
Sweden’s seasoned golfer Maria Hjorth, with her massive five-under, 67 on Sunday, won the Avnet LPGA Classic at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Course, with a two-stroke lead over runner-up Song-Hee Kim.
The overnight leader, Alexis Thompson, tied with Kim at the culmination of the third round, had to settle for a joint 19th after a disappointing final day. Thompson, who is just 16, stunned the field with her five-under, 67 on Saturday and was
all set to be the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour history. Hjorth’s consistent performance in the last two rounds however, was enough to prove that experience is irreplaceable.
"Obviously, it's always great to be a winner," said Hjorth, "You work very hard for it. When it happens, especially with a field like this where we have the best players in the world playing, teeing it up on Thursday, it's even a better feeling to know you
can be out there and play and play against the best."
Hjorth also played marvelously well in the third round to score five-under and maintained her composure heading into the final round.
Kim had opened her first round of the tournament with her five-under, 67 and had sent a strong signal of yet another domination of the LPGA Tour by the South Koreans. She, however, did not perform equally well in the last three days, with her even Par in
the second round and two-under and one-under in the last two rounds respectively.
Kim finished eight-under, 280 to settle for the second spot, while Na Yeon Choi and Suzann Pettersen finished tied for the third with an aggregate score of seven-under, 281.
Thompson, the 16-year-old prodigy, however, has rattled many big guns on the tour and will pose a serious threat to the leading LPGA members in the coming events. Thompson is not a regular LPGA member as she does not meet the minimum age requirement of 18
to be a member of the tour. She was just three years old when Hjorth made her debut on the LPGA Tour. She opened her round with a bogey, suffered another double bogey at 14 and 15, and ended the show with yet another bogey to finish at 78.
Hjorth, who has won four times previously on the tour, collected her winner’s share of $195,000. Hjorth plans to donate $20,000 to those affected by the recent devastation caused by tornados in the southern State of Alabama.
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