(27 April 2010 – Rancho Viejo, Texas)
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Rookie Korean Sophie Jang completed a nerve-wracking first professional win on Sunday at the Historic Brownsville Open in Texas. Walking onto the 18th green she needed to two-putt from 40-feet to win and after leaving her first putt 10-feet short, it looked like a four-way playoff would ensue. However, she held her nerve to sink the testing putt and collect the $15,400 winner’s cheque. Tied for second were Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum and American Angela Oh. Australia’s Sarah-Jane Smith fired a final round of 3-under par 68 to finish in a tie for 4th.
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rnJang, who spent five years in Australia before heading to the US in 2008, said after her round, “I didn’t look at the leaderboard until I finished my putt, and then everybody was yelling. After it went in, I was like, ‘Did I win?’ I looked at the leaderboard and my name was at the top.” She also admitted that she didn’t sleep well on Saturday night, and when she did she dreamed of finishing second, and added, “Maybe sometimes, it’s nice that dreams don’t come true.” She moved from 75th to 6th on the Money List and in the race for one of the 10 LPGA cards handed out at the end of the season. Kristie Smith slipped one spot to 4th after not playing in the event, while Sarah-Jane Smith moved up to 18th as she plays both the FUTURES and LPGA Tours.
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rnOther ALPG players to make the cut were Leanne Bowditch (T29), Rebecca Flood (T37) and Rachel Bailey (T58).
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Photos by Paul Melville – ALPG