7/16/2022 9:02:26 PM EST
The pairing of Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas shot a final-round nine-under 61 Saturday to win the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland, Mich.A day featuring nine birdies and no bogeys matched their previous second-round score of 61 and allowed them to finish with a 26-under 254 for the tournament.Kupcho and Salas finished five strokes in front of the second-place team, Finland's Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan of Malaysia, who combined to shoot an eight-under 62 on Sunday.Kupcho and Salas had eight birdies Sunday. Neither golfer bogeyed on the day.The rules of the tournament, in which a pairing's best hole becomes the official score for both golfers, were barely necessary, as each golfer individually would have shot at least four under. It was Kupcho's third win of the year. She is the only LPGA player with three victories."I think after I got my first win, I felt a lot more confident in my game," Kupcho said. "It's so hard to win out here, so to know that I could do it, I think that kind of helped my confidence. And then to get the second win against a really stacked leaderboard and a playoff at Meijer, it made me all that more comfortable."I think that's kind of how amateur golf was for me. I started out really slow, and then I was able to win and kind of just went off on it. It is a lot of fun to win and I am a very competitive person."The victory was the second of the year for Salas but her first since winning the 2014 Kingsmill Championship, a span of 8 years, 1 month and 28 days. "It's been a long time. I couldn't have done it without her. You know, she's a great competitor, a great friend and an amazing partner on the golf course," Salas said of Kupcho. "We played some amazing golf this week. My job was, or my goal, was to play well for her. We showcased how our games can complement each other."But for myself to finally get another win after eight years, it's been a long journey, lots of up and downs, and just really happy," said Salas, who turns 33 on Sunday.The most impressive round of the day might have been turned in by the team of American Stacy Lewis and Maria Fassi of Mexico. The duo shot a tournament-tying low of 11-under 59 while scoring 11 birdies.Lewis and Fassi finished six strokes back in third place with a 20-under 260."I think it's confidence for both of us," Lewis said. "I felt like I played some better golf this year and maybe the results haven't showed, and talking to her, I think she could probably say the same thing. Just for both of us to see some putts go in and see some shots go in and doing what you are trying to do, it doesn't matter what format it is."Finishing tied for fourth at 19 under were the pairings of Americans Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol (61) and Hong Kong's Tiffany Chan and South Korea's Haeji Kang (62).Narin An and Hye-Jin Choi (61), both from South Korea, finished tied for sixth at 18 under with France's Pauline Roussin and the Netherlands' Dewi Weber (63).Sisters Jessica and Nelly Korda (60) finished tied for eighth at 17 under with Ecuador's Daniela Darquea and Australia's Karis Davidson (62).Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam and fellow Swede Madelene Sagstrom (66) tied for 28th at 11-under 269."It's been a great golf course. I think it's exciting golf," Sorenstam said. "It's just great to be out here. I feel it's been a great week in a lot of ways."--Field Level Media
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