Mason, OH – The final day of the LNGA Championship was a tug of war between Hailey Jones and Giovanna Fernandez with Jones coming out the winner. The front nine saw Jones and Fernandez trading holes back and forth, with Fernandez wrapping up the front nine one shot ahead after a blistering three under par 32.
The back nine started to turn for Fernandez when she made a bogey on the par 5 13th while Jones birdied to tie up the leaderboard. Jones pulled ahead on the 15th by making a par on the tough par four. However, Fernandez wasn’t ready to give up the Championship just yet. Fernandez hit the green on the par 3 16th and two putted for par. Jones missed the green long and left and failed to get up and down which tied the contest going to the 17th hole. Fernandez made a great sand save on the 17th for a par, while Jones made bogey after a three-putt.
Fernandez stepped onto the par 5 18th tee one shot ahead but then pulled her drive left and ended up out of bounds. After the dramatic tee shot by Fernandez, Jones pulled out a fairway metal to ensure her drive would find the fairway.
“I had an idea where I stood on 18. I took less than the three wood for my tee shot because I didn’t need to risk anything. Then I was really just focused on getting my (third) shot as close as possible and wanted to make a par or bogey because I knew Gia was struggling.”
Fernandez put her next tee shot into the fairway and then decided to go for the green in two with her fourth shot after Jones safely laid up her third. Fernandez’s wayward fourth shot gave Jones some breathing room and her third shot found the fringe of the putting surface. Jones used her putter to attempt the up and down but ultimately ended up with a six which was still good enough for the win. Jones fired a 75 on the last day and ended the championship at one under par, 215. She led wire-to-wire and claimed the George III Champion trophy.
She credits the win to her recent hard work. “I have been working really hard and it’s definitely good to see some low numbers. I definitely know that my game is getting there and coming along.”
Texas A & M Wins The Howell Trophy
The two-person team of Zoe Slaughter and Mia Nixon shot a combined three day total of +18, 234 to claim the Howell Team Trophy. The Aggies bested the second place Ball State University Team by 14 shots. The Aggies will have the honor of taking the trophy to College Station for the next year.
Elizabeth Eberle Wins Junior Medalist
Elizabeth Eberle of Richmond, Kentucky, was the Junior Medalist for the 93rd LNGA Championship firing a +12, 228 three-day total. Eberle is an incoming freshman at the University of Cincinnati and will have possession of the Dorothy Pease Junior Medalist Trophy for the next year. Eberle outlasted Nicole Johnson on the last day. Johnson,who finished at +13, 229, is from Edwardsville, Illinois and is an incoming freshman at Middle Tennessee State University.
The full field results are available by visiting the LNGA webpage at https://www.ladiesnationalgolf.org.
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