Cambridge, ON – Consistency was key at Whistle Bear Golf Club, host of the Manulife LPGA Classic. While a number of players shot lower individual rounds, Caroline Masson used rounds of 68, 69, 68, and 67 to shot a four day total of 16-under-par 272 and win the tournament.
The victory is the first LPGA tour win for the 27-year-old German. It gave her a one stroke victory over Karine Icher, Lee M-Hyang, and Minjee Lee. The three tied for second place at 15-under. It also moves Masson up 30 spots, to 22nd overall in the Race to the CME Globe standings. Fellow golfers showered Masson with beer on the practice green when she clinched the victory.
“It’s a funny feeling (waiting on the practice green for the other golfers to finish). I really expected (Lee) to make a birdie. I expected to play more golf,” Masson said. “It felt like it took forever. I just tried to hit a few putts to distract myself from the situation.”
“Now I’m covered in beer. I think they picked beer cause I’m German, they figured I could take it.”
Adversity
Masson recovered after a tough start to the round, double bogeying the first hole. She would go on to make nine birdies over the course of the round, spending the day slowly climb the leaderboard.
“It’s hard to believe. Obviously I was in a good position coming in. I was thinking if I could have a really good round I had a chance. Really wasn’t expecting it though,” Masson said. “I got off to a really bad start, as I doubled the first hole. From then on, I just golfed. There was no pressure to win or do anything. Just keep making birdies, and that’s what I did all day.”
What’s Next
Masson is in good form heading to the Evian Championship, the final major of the year. A long-time European Ladies‘ Tour veteran she is well prepared for the tournament held at the Evian Resort in Evian, France.
Before she gets there though, she will play the Ladies European Masters, a Ladies European Tournament event taking place at Golf Club Hubbelrath, her home course.
Lydia Ko Ready for the Next Major
After barely making the cut, world number one ranked Lydia Ko put together rounds of 64 and 68 to finish at 14-under-par. The defending Champion for the Evian is pleased with her game. She did indicate that she will take the week off before heading to Europe, in order to further refine her game.
“I’m excited for the week off. The Olympics is almost like two weeks in one week. It was just an unbelievable experience. It’s been a long three weeks defending last week and coming here. But overall I feel like I played really solid. So it’s been a cool three weeks. I’m going to charge up, work on a few things and be in Evian in a week or so.” Ko said following the round.
“Nothing is always perfect, so just trying to polish a few things. Kind of got the putter rolling a little bit better the past three dayas, so just kind of ddo that and working on trying to hit it solid.”
Main Photo:
