Georgia Hall shot a final-round 67 at Royal Lytham & St Annes to claim victory at the 2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open.
The win was triply sweet for the 22-year old Englishwoman, who not only secured her maiden LPGA title, she did so on home soil and in a major.
“I always joked that a major would be my first win. I can’t believe it really happened. I played well today; I putted great,” said Hall.
The day started with Pornanong Phatlum at 13-under par and Hall one back at 12 under, with two multi major winners, So Yeon Ryu and Sung Hyun Park, one and two further back, respectively.
But the two high-ranked Koreans struggled early, giving Phatlum and Hall the full spotlight, and setting up something of a match play between the final twosome.
Phatlum extended her lead to two shots after reeling off five birdies in a six hole stretch (Nos. 2-6), yet Hall offset the Thai’s scoring flurry by adding three gains of her own. A bogey on No. 8 by Phatlum made it a one-stroke match again, and that’s where it stayed until a birdie by Hall on the 13th tied things up.
The leaders each made birdie on the par-5 15th to stay deadlocked at 17-under par, but the Englishwoman added a birdie on No. 16 to move ahead for the first time. A double bogey by Phatlum on 17 essentially ended any further drama, as Hall owned a three-stroke cushion with one to play.
Playing it safe on the final hole, Hall missed a short putt for par, but tapped in for bogey and a two-stroke win.
TOP 10 LEADERS
POS-PLAYER-TO PAR (TODAY)
1. Georgia Hall -17 (-5)
2. Pornanong Phatlum -15 (-2)
3. So Yeon Ryu -13 (-2)
4. Sei Young Kim -9 (-6)
4. Mamiko Higa -9 (+1)
4. Ariya Jutanugarn -9 (-3)
7. Shanshan Feng -8 (-3)
7. Yu Liu -8 (-1)
7. Calota Ciganda -8 (-2)
10. Minjee Lee -7 (+3)
FINAL-ROUND HIGHLIGHTS
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This is a developing report. More to come.