(4 June 2012 – Galloway, New Jersey)
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Rolex World No. 7 Stacy Lewis secured her second victory of the season at the ShopRite LPGA Classic on Sunday after carding rounds of 65-65-71 to finish at 12-under par. She finished four strokes ahead of Australia’s Katherine Hull who came home with a flourish making birdies on four of her last six holes. In a tie for third was Japan’s Mika Miyazato and last-start winner Azahara Munoz from Spain.
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Lewis took a commanding lead early in the week, entering the final round with a six-stroke lead. From there she just had to play solid golf to claim the inevitable victory. Early on it appeared like she was aiming to set some new records posting four birdies in her opening eight holes. This obviously put the victory beyond doubt, it was just a case of by-how-many?
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In the end Lewis was probably a little disappointed with how she finished the day. In her final ten holes she posted three bogeys and a double to come back to the field a bit, posting even par for the final round. In the end, it didn’t matter as she strolled to victory and a $225,000 winner’s cheque. She now sits in third on the Official Money List for 2012 with season earnings of US$699,246. She is just under $300,000 behind Yani Tseng who has US$999,148 while Munoz is in second with US$739,587.
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With this win, Lewis is predicted to move to third in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, surpassing Cristie Kerr as the top American golfer on Tour. So far this season, Lewis has recorded six top-10s including a win at the Mobile Bay LGPA Classic. The four-year veteran on Tour recorded her first LGPA victory at the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
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With her runner-up finish Hull moved into the top-20 on the Money List with season earnings of US$215,611 in season earnings.Karrie Webb was the best of the other ALPG members, finishing in a tie for 23rd at 1-under par. Sarah-Jane Smith also made the cut, winding up in a tie for 29th at 1-over.
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