(26 March 2012 – Carlsbad, California)
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Rolex Rankings World No. 1 Yani Tseng captured her third victory of the 2012 LPGA season and her 15th career win after shooting a final-round 70 to secure a six-shot victory at the Kia Classic in California. In the inevitable battle for second place, Sun Young Yoo posted her second career runner-up finish, one shot ahead of Jiyai Shin and Shanshan Feng who tied for third.
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There never seemed to be a question that this would once again be Tseng’s day. A birdie by Tseng on the par-4 fifth extended her lead back to three and from there, she never looked back. The only blip in her round came with a bogey on the 18th hole when her win was already well in hand. In addition to the $255,000 first-place prize check, Tseng also takes home a Kia Optima Limited following the win.
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The victory is Tseng’s second-consecutive following last week’s triumph at the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup and the third in five attempts this season. She has led or co-led after each of the last eight rounds dating back to the first round in Phoenix last week and has won seven of the last eight times she entered the final round with a lead. Tseng’s round of 70 on Sunday also marked her 10th consecutive under-par round dating back to the Honda LPGA Thailand last month.
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With this win Tseng becomes the second youngest LPGA player to reach 15 career victories at the age of 23 years, 2 months, 2 days. The only player to reach the mark faster than Tseng is Nancy Lopez, who was 22 years, 5 months and 18 days when she won her 15th career victory at the 1979 Lady Keystone Open on June 24, 1979.
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rnThis marks the 7th time in Yani Tseng’s career that she has won an event after leading or co-leading heading into the final round. She went 0-for-4 to start her career in 2008 and 2009, but since then she’s 7-for-8, her only loss coming at last year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship, where Stacy Lewis became a Rolex First-Time Winner in 2011.
rn “I feel much more comfortable than the first time, of course,” Tseng said in reference to holding on to a final-round lead. “Today the first hole I just kind of felt like every day is the same. I didn&apost feel like today was Sunday. I didn&apost feel like I had a three shot lead. I just focused on playing one shot at a time. I think I did a good job to just kind of focus on myself instead of look at what Sun Young is doing or Jiyai is doing. Just really focused on what I can do and try to improve and make birdies.”
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Tseng earned her 23rd point towards qualifying for the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame. Twenty-seven points and 10 years of service on the LPGA Tour are needed for induction. Two points are on the line at the Kraft Nabisco Championship and so a victory next week would put Tseng just two points away from meeting the first criterion for Hall of Fame induction.
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“The Hall of Fame is my dream since I was young,” Tseng said. “The first year on the Tour, I mean, that really is my big dream. So I always keep that in my mind, and I try to win every tournament, focus on every tournament to see how I can improve that.”
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Tseng’s victory was sixth victory in her last 12 dating back to the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last fall. It’s been quite a streak for Tseng, who continues to distance herself from her competitors in the No. 1 spot on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. And her fellow LPGA Tour players have noticed a difference in Tseng this year as well.
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“You can see in her face she has a lot of confidence,” said Jiyai Shin, who now has three top-10 finishes in 2012. “Even her swing, too, she has a great follow through and good alignment right now, so that makes her strong.”
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It was a mixed week for the Aussies, Lindsey Wright the best in a tie for 20th while Karrie Webb had a disappointing final round to slip from 12th to a tie for 25th. Wendy Doolan (T65) and Sarah-Jane Smith (T69) also made the cut.