South Korea’s Solar Lee celebrated her victory at the final round of The First Ladies Indonesia Open Golf Tournament in Pecatu, Bali, on Sunday although her performance dropped in the last day as she posted no birdies and shot four bogeys.
Despite not finishing strongly in the tournament, this is the first victory for the 20-year-old who turned professional three years ago. She shot a four-over 76 in the third round to complete the three rounds with a 2-under par 214, one shot ahead of the runner-up.
In the first and the second round, Lee was steadier and shot less bogeys.
She finished the first round with a 4-under 68 with six birdies and two bogeys. In the second round, she shot a 2-under 70 with three birdies and only posted one bogey. The Korean star took home the winner’s purse of US$18,000.
Second place went to Japan’s Mina Nakayama, with a total of 215. The 19-year-old, the youngest in the tournament, managed to shoot an eagle at the 17th and a birdie at the second. She posted two bogeys.
Mina ended her round with a one-under par 71 to finish second - her best effort since turning professional last year. This is her fourth tournament as a professional.
Lee claimed that she was nervous going into the final day of play.
"I was not able to take control and dropped a stroke on the fifth. Then I dropped three more in a row starting at the seventh. I was under a lot of pressure and I was never able to regain my composure.
"Then Mina added to the pressure when she eagled the 17th and she was breathing down my neck on the 18th green. I was very nervous. But luckily I made it and the fact that this is my first win makes it even sweeter," Lee said, adding that she hoped to finish in the top three in the money ranking on the Korean LPGA beginning next month.
Mina said it was Lee's poor play that enabled her to catch up, "and not that I was brilliant today".
"Lee lost her grip but that gave me confidence and I went for it," she said.
Mina said she really enjoyed playing the course. “This course is really good. The green is tricky but challenging, and I like it.”
She added that she was happy settling for second, but not completely satisfied as she wanted to win.
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