PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — A masterful 5-under par (68) final round from former two-time Epson Tour winner and 2014 graduate Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei) was not enough to dethrone Brittany Lincicome (St. Petersburg, Florida) at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
Lincicome used a 7-under par (66) this afternoon to finish 12-under overall and successfully defend her title. For Hsu, she’ll have to settle for solo second, going 10-under for the tournament.
“I’ve never defended, so that’s pretty cool,” said Lincicome, the first-ever athlete endorsed by Pure Silk. “This is incredible to have an event in the Bahamas. It’s pretty amazing.”
After finishing the second round this morning, 78 players were at 6-over par or better to make the cut. The third round then began at 10:55 a.m. EST with players going off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees.
For the 2017 Epson Tour graduating class, six individuals made the cut. They shot a combined 11-under par in the final round, with five in the red. The top performer from the group and overall outstanding LPGA Tour rookie for the tournament was Hannah Green (Perth, Australia). She went 2-under par today to finish at 4-under and in a tie for 11th with six others.
“The wind was tricky, but consistent in direction so your gameplan is the same everyday,” said Green. “Putting was quite tough, but I was patient out there.”
Meanwhile, Yu Liu (Beijing, China) fired 4-under par and Erynne Lee (Silverdale, Washington) shot 2-under par to conclude their first tournament as LPGA rookies with a 2-under par total. They ended in a tie for 21st.
“The key for me this week was being able to stay patient in every moment,” Lee said. “I just thought of it as starting a fresh new round if I had to start on a hole other than No. 1 or No. 10. Overall, it has been an amazing and enjoyable experience.”
Two more rookies—Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Lindsey Weaver (Bellefontaine, Ohio)—finished at even par and tied for 31st. In the final round, however, Weaver carded a 2-under par and Koerstz Madsen tallied a 1-under par.
Finally, Emma Talley (Princeton, Kentucky), another rookie, stayed even par in the final round to cap off a 5-over par performance, tied for 60th.
Next up for the LPGA Tour is the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open from Feb. 15-18 in Adelaide, South Australia.
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