Emily Pedersen not only came to play this week with the return of tournament golf in Denmark, she came to win. And the Epson Tour member did just that.
One of nine women competing in an 82-player field at Romo Golf Links in the Bravo Tours Open by Enjoy Resorts on the ECCO Tour, Pedersen secured a one-shot victory earlier today. She claimed the title at 11-under par overall, defeating the likes of 2019 AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open champion Rasmus Højgaard and other European Tour contenders.
Pedersen opened with a bogey-free, 6-under par 66 yesterday then maintained that momentum with six birdies in the final round for a 5-under 67 performance. Tournament runner-up Oliver Suhr converted an eagle at No. 16, but a birdie from Pedersen on the very next hole slammed the door on any comeback down the stretch.
“It shows all the work I put in is paying off,” said Pedersen. “It has been a tough few years, so it is really nice to see that my game is improving, and it feels great to win again.”
The 24-year-old joins a short list of women who have won a men’s tour event. In 2012, Lydia Hall won the Welsh National PGA Championship to become the first lady to capture a PGA national tournament crown. Meanwhile, PGA of America president Suzy Whaley won the 2002 Connecticut PGA Section Championship to qualify for the 2003 Greater Hartford Open.
Dating back to 1938, it was LPGA co-founder and 1951 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Babe Zaharis who set the foundation when she competed at the Los Angeles Open. She was in the field again seven years later and advanced to the weekend. Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie and Brittany Lincicome were invited by the PGA TOUR to the 2003 Bank of American Colonial, the 2004 Sony Open and 2018 Barbasol Championship, respectively, but each missed the cut.
Pederson etched her name in the history books, but she was not the lone female lurking near the top of the leaderboard. Nanna Koerstz Madsen, a 2017 Epson Tour graduate and current LPGA Tour member finished in a tie for third. In 2019, Koerstz Madsen recorded a LPGA career-best result of runner-up at the Indy Women in Tech Championship driven by Group1001.
Safe to say the women held their own in a men’s tour event and made a statement along the way.
)
)
)
)
