Suzann Pettersen grabs second straight LPGA title
Norwegian Suzann Pettersen knows she is a marked LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) star. Just a few days ago, when she clinched a victory at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship 2012,
she knew she could carry on in the same way in the coming tournaments.
Pettersen ran true to form as she racked up her second consecutive triumph at the Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship 2012, held at Yang Mei, Taiwan, last week.
She fired an overall 269 to grab a three-shot victory against South Korean Inbee Park, who was regarded as one of the hot favourites for the prestigious title.
The Norwegian star looked at her best during the four-round tournament, but she had to face stiff competition from stars such as current world number one Yani Tseng, who was defending her
title, and Park.
Shooting a near-flawless 65 in the second and a 66 in the third round proved to be game changer for Pettersen as she ramped up pressure on rivals. Then in the fourth round, she finished off
the tournament by firing a 69.
Sharing her thoughts at the end of the match, the LPGA titan said that she was confident right from the start and did not let weather conditions take their toll on her.
“Well, today was ‑‑ I was kind of happy I was in the position I was after yesterday, coming from behind, being a little bit of an underdog, knowing that they predicted tougher conditions,
and I think that was just right up my alley,” she said at the end of the final round on Sunday.
Pettersen admitted that it was not easy making perfect strokes, given the conditions, but she managed to stay out trouble on most of the holes.
“It was tough enough to where I managed to keep my focus on my game trying to execute every shot, and it kind of took the pressure off me,” she added.
Tseng, who is still trying to end her winning drought, did not crumble like she did in most of the recent tournaments, but failed to defend her title in front of a home crowd.
Tseng shot an overall 273 to take the third position on the leaderboard.
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