BELMONT, Mich. (AP) — Leona Maguire played her final six holes in 6 under and shot an 8-under 64 on Sunday to win the Meijer LPGA Classic by two strokes, her second tour victory.
Maguire made six birdies and an eagle in her bogey-free round at Blythefield to finish at 21-under 267. She caught playing partner Ariya Jutanugarn with an eagle on the par-5 14th hole to reach 18 under, then closed with three straight birdies to pull ahead of Jutanugarn and Xiyu Lin.
Maguire was solid but unspectacular on the front nine, birdieing both par 3s, and was 2 under for the day through 12 holes. She then birdied the par-3 13th to kick off her torrid closing stretch.
Jutanugarn, a 12-time winner on tour including two majors, shot her second straight 66 and finished alone in second. Lin, playing in the final group, birdied the 14th to reach 19 under but played her final four holes in 1 over to shoot 68 and finish tied for third with third-round leader Amy Yang (69).
Hyo Joo Kim (69) was fifth. Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho had a fourth-round 69 and finished in a tie for sixth with Jasmine Suwannapura (66).
KORN FERRY TOUR
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Ricky Castillo parred the first hole of a three-man playoff to win his professional debut on Sunday at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open.
Castillo, who led Florida to the NCAA championship last month, closed with a 4-under 66 to finish at 19-under 261 at Crestview, matching Kyle Jones (66) and third-round leader Adrien Dumont de Chassart, who was seeking a second straight title to begin his own pro career.
Dumont de Chassart helped Illinois reach the quarterfinals of this year’s NCAAs and won last week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina. The Belgian led by four shots entering the final round and eagled the par-5 15th hole to move to 2 under for the day, but bogeyed the next two to fall into a tie with Castillo and Jones.
Castillo played the front nine in 5-under 30 and was 6 under before he made a 6 on the par-4 15th. He closed with three straight pars. In the playoff, his two-putt par on the 479-yard, par-4 18th was good enough as Jones and Dumont de Chassart both missed the green and failed to get up-and-down.
OTHER TOURS
Chaira Horder became the third German in the last six years to win the British Women’s Amateur, soundly beating Annabelle Pancake in the 36-hole final, 7 and 6, to win at Prince’s Golf Club in England. … Ji-Ho Yang closed with a 5-under 67 for a one-shot victory over Keita Nakajima in the Hana Bank Invitational, claiming his first title on the Japan Golf Tour. … Lorenzo Scalise won the Kaskáda Golf Challenge with a 1-under 71 to finish three shots clear of Manuel Elvira on the Challenge Tour. … Miyuu Yamashita continued her big year, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-shot victory in the Nichirei Ladies on the Japan LPGA. Yamashita has three wins, two runner-up finishes and a tie for third in her last six Japan LPGA events. … Kristyna Napoleaova of the Czech Republic shot a 1-under 71 and then beat Cara Gainer of England in a playoff to capture the Amundi German Masters on the Ladies European Tour. … Étienne Papineau of Canada closed with a 6-under 64 for a five-shot win in the Royal Beach Victoria Open on the PGA Tour Canada.
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