ShopRite LPGA Classic - Final Round

Brittany Lincicome birdied the final hole to win the ShopRite LPGA Classic.  It is the fourth career victory for Lincicome, the first since her memorable 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship.  Jiyai Shin and Cristie Kerr tied for second place at -10, one shot behind while Catriona Matthew finished fourth at -9.

Kerr began the day with a one-shot lead over Matthew and two over Lincicome.  The red numbers were plentiful early on as several players ran off multi-hole birdie streaks.  Anna Nordqvist jumped into the picture at -6 as she began her round with three straight birdies.  Lincicome eagled the par-5 3^rd hole to tie for the lead but in the very next group, Kerr birdied it to retake the lead at -9.  Cristie birdied again at 5 to take a two-shot lead.  Shin birdied three in a row from 3 through 5 to reach -8 and tie for second.  Matthew had birdied 3 to reach -8 but a miss from five feet at 5 set her back to -7, from which she seemed to fade away.  About this same time Mindy Kim and In-Kyung Kim were within two.  Mindy bogeyed 7 and never got back in gear while Inky was able to stay in the hunt.  As Golf Channel came on air at 4:30, Kerr led by two over Lincicome and Shin with Inky, Mindy and Matthew three back.

Shin tapped in her fourth straight birdie at 6 to get within one at -9.  Nordqvist birdied 8 & 9 to go -8.  Lincicome converted a four-footer at 6 to go -9.  Jiyai had five feet to tie for the lead at 7 but missed it right.  Inky canned a 15-footer at 9 to reach -8.  Just when the pressure was mounting, Cristie ran in a 15-footer of her own at 6 to regain her two-shot lead.  It was looking like it might be her day until a bunch of bad things started happening.  At the par-3 7^th, Kerr's tee shot went through the green.  She chipped nicely to four feet but missed the par putt to cut her lead in half.  Shin and Inky each missed birdie from around 10 feet and Nordqvist lipped out at 10 from less than three feet.  Kerr pulled her drive at 8 left into some of the tall fescue which has been added to the Bay Course in recent months.  Forced to take an unplayable drop (which gave her a crappy lie to boot), Cristie played her third into a greenside bunker and managed to get up-and-down.  The bogey created a three-way tie at -9 with Shin and Lincicome.

The weirdness continued.  Jiyai lipped out a birdie putt from five feet at 9.  Nordqvist missed a four-footer for par at 11.  Inky appeared to make a 20-footer at 12 but as she took a step towards the hole, it lipped out.  Brittany restored some order as she two-putted for birdie at 9 to take the solo lead at -10.  Shin followed suit by dropping a 15-footer at 10.  Kerr blew the chance to remake the threesome when she missed from four feet at 9.  Inky rolled a beautiful 35-footer at 13 which (what else?) lipped-out.  Nordqvist returned to the fray with a chip-in at 13 (her second of the day, following one at 2) to go -8 but she exited just as quickly with a miss from five feet at 14.  Shin roped one to five feet at 12 and dropped the putt to take the lead at -11.  Kerr had six feet for birdie at 11 and (what else?) she missed it.  Taking a breath to reset the leaderboard, I'll tell you that Shin was now the leader at -11 with Lincicome at -10, Kerr -9 and Inky -8.

At 14, Jiyai chipped poorly from the fringe and missed her 10-foot par putt.  Coming through next, Brittany was forced to play her second from the left rough standing on a gravel path (no relief was available) and rolled through the green.  From a bad lie, she chipped to five feet and saved par.  Shin chipped to three feet at 15 but missed her par putt to hand Lincicome the lead with her second straight bogey.  Jiyai struggled again at 16, missing the green long but a terrific chip to a foot saved par.  Kerr kept losing her iron shots right and settling for par.  Shin played maybe her best iron of the day at 17 when her tee shot stopped two feet away.  The birdie sent her to the final hole tied for the lead.  Kim had already finished at -8 so we were down to three contenders.  Oh yeah, Matthew dropped a birdie putt from off the 16^th green to go -8 but she missed from 15 feet at 17 so her birdie at the last was only good for -9.  Catriona wound up close but she really wasn't in this thing down the stretch.

Back to the real contenders.  Lincicome and Kerr each had over 20 feet for birdie at 17 and neither struck gold so they went to the par-5 18^th like this - Shin and Lincicome -10, Kerr -9.  Shin went for the green but came up short.  She chipped about ten feet past and then missed her birdie try to the right.  Needing birdie to take the lead and being the longest of Bombers, Brittany went for the green and reached but the ball rolled through and barely entered the tall fescue on the back left.  Able to get a club on it, she popped it onto the green and it rolled up to about four feet.  The putt was true to take the lead at -11.  Needing eagle now to force a playoff, Kerr came up short of the green with her second.  She putted her third from at least 75 feet away and it came up about five feet short.

Now that's a recap!  I'll have more tomorrow but for now I'll finish with "Congratulations Brittany Lincicome"!