(21 June 2010 – Decatur, Illinois)
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rnFormer University of Southern California&aposs Jennifer Song only turned professional five weeks ago and in her first start in the pay-for-play ranks recorded a resounding victory at the Tate & Lyle Players’ Championship in Illinois. Song joined the likes of LPGA players Angela Stanford (2000), Jimin Kang (2002) and Katherine Hull (2003) as winners of their first professional tournament. It was an emphatic victory as well, leaving the field six shots in her wake as she posted a final round of 9-under par 61 to total 19-under par 261 for the week. Arizona’s Esther Choe finished outright runner-up on 13-under par.
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rnSong started the final round with a slender one shot lead over Mo Martin but got quickly out of the blocks with a birdie on the first and never looked back. She added back-to-back birdies on the 5th and 6th holes to forge a four shot lead at the turn. On the back nine she rammed home her advantage with a birdie at the 11th, and followed that up with four straight birdies from the 13th hole. She then punctuated her performance with a final hole birdie. Afterwards she said, “This win means a lot, turning professional and stepping into the real world is special, but it&aposs also scary. Honestly, I don’t know what was going through my head today. It was like magic.” Maybe one to watch out for, a girl in a hurry to make the LPGA.
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Cathryn Bristow was the best of the ALPG players finishing in a tie for 44th at 1-over par while Leanne Bowditch also made the cut, finishing in a tie for 73rd at 6-over.