DECATUR, Ill. (AP) — Madison Pressel won the windy Decatur-Forsyth Classic on Sunday for her first Symetra Tour title, beating Ashley Tait with a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff.
The 22-year-old Pressel, LPGA Tour player Morgan Pressel’s younger sister, finished with an even-par 72 in wind gusting over 35 mph to match playing partner Tait at 6-under 210 at Hickory Point.
“There are really no words to explain this, I just plugged along today and I’ve had definitely one of the best weekends I’ve had playing on tour,” said Pressel, a former University of Texas player. “This is probably the best I’ve played since my junior year of college. So, to be able to play like this and come away with a win is going to be huge for me for the rest of the season.”
Tait blew a late four-stroke lead. She bogeyed the par-4 15th and had a double bogey on the par-3 17th. Pressel birdied the 17th for a three-shot swing.
“I fortunately have seen this situation unfold before,” Pressel said. “I’ve watched Morgan play many match play events and I’ve seen how quickly things can turn around and I just continued to play my game. I didn’t worry about what anyone I was playing with was doing and if I made some birdies, I made some birdies.”
Tait finished with a 74.
Pressel earned $15,000 to jump from 110th to 17th on the money list with $17,126, with the final top 10 earning 2015 LPGA Tour cards. She opened with rounds of 67 and 71.
“This win is unbelievable,” Pressel said. “My family has been supporting me through everything and to know that I’m not letting them down and I’m not letting myself down is great. To show that I do belong out here really means a lot.”
She talked to her sister after the round.
“She is at Pinehurst sitting with her caddie and a bunch of friends and she is absolutely freaking out,” Pressel said. “She said I made her so nervous.”
South Korea’s Hye-Min Kim and Canada’s Ashley Sholer tied for third at 4 under. Kim shot 68, and Sholer had a 70.
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