Leah Wigger Captures Three-Stroke Victory at 2012 Island Resort Championship

Leah Wigger opened her final round at the Island Resort Championship with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 1 & 2 and never looked back en route to a three-stroke victory over Victoria Elizabeth, Vicotria Park and Nicole Jeray. Wigger's win is the second of her career on the Epson Tour and first since 2008 when she won the AMERICAN SYSTEMS Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla. She shot a final-round 2-under 70 to finish at 7-under for the tournament. After her two birdies out of the gate, Wigger went on to card only one bogey on No. 9 and followed it up with her third and last birdie of the day on No. 10.

Wigger said her strong start scared her at first, saying that opening up with birdies tends to go against a feeling she likes to have at the beginning of her rounds.

"Sometimes I don't like starting out birdie," said Wigger. "I'm a little superstitious. But draining that second birdie I think helped a lot."

Wigger sank a 30-foot put on the par 4 No. 2 to take a three-stroke lead on Aimee Neff. But Neff fought back, carding birdies on Nos. 4 and 8 to make things all square at the turn. The two good friends said they were happy at that point to give the crowd a show.

"We actually said I guess we're trying to make this interesting for everybody," said Wigger. "It was going to be a nine-hole shootout at the end and it worked out in my favor."

Neff would go on to card three bogeys on the back nine to slip out of contention while Wigger followed up her bogey on No. 9 with her last birdie of the day on the par 4 No. 10.

"That definitely helped because I bogeyed No. 9 and hit it in the water off the tee," said Wigger. "So to be able to bounce back with a birdie definitely helped."

Down the stretch, Wigger admitted to not looking at any scoreboards and did not know where she stood until she found herself in trouble on No. 18.

"I don't like looking at scoreboards," said Wigger. "I actually had to ask Vicky when I hit it in the bunker on No. 18, 'where do I stand?' so I could make my decision whether I had to go for it or not because I really didn't want to hit that shot."

Fellow Tour player Victoria Alimonda Lovelady and friend of Wigger's was on the bag for her on Sunday after she missed the cut.

"It made my decision a lot easier because it wasn't a good time to be stupid, I guess you could say, and go for the pin just so I could have a birdie," said Wigger. "Knowing that I had a three-shot lead made it a lot easier."

Wigger played her final shots safe and closed out the tournament to earn her second-career Epson Tour victory. A group of friends stormed the 18th green and doused her with plenty of water to get her soaked in victory.

"It was a bit cold," Wigger said of the celebratory shower. "I can't believe they did it in my white shorts, but what are friends for?"

Wigger said it was the highlight of her week and that the second win of her career was bigger than the first.

"I think more important because I feel like more than anything my faith has grown stronger since then," said Wigger. "So just in that respect it's so much sweeter."

Wigger was quick to point out that in both wins she came into the final round with the lead and that she's proud of her ability to finish off an entire weekend of work.

"Both times I've won, I came in with the lead. So I know I can close!"

Asked how she'll celebrate No. 2, she said with her luck, she might be found in the casino at the Island Resort.

"I still haven't spent my $200 so I might have to go do that."

On Other Tours: Leah Wigger wins on Epson Tour

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