The final round of the 2022 Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout was a thrilling one, as Britney Yada came from behind to secure her first Epson Tour victory. Yada was tied for sixth heading into Sunday, five strokes off Kiira Riihijarvi’s lead.
“I am still in shock, I think,” said Yada. “It feels amazing. All the hard work is paying off, finally. I have a lot of confidence heading into the last two events.”
Yada went bogey free on the final 18, her first and only bogey-free round of the tournament. She shot 7-under on the day and made five birdies on the back nine to boost herself to the top of the leaderboard.
“I was hitting my irons really well,” said Yada. “I just waited for the moments that I had good numbers, and I went at flags. The times where I didn’t like my numbers, I took a more conservative line. It all worked out.”
The Epson Tour veteran has played Mystic Creek Golf Club before and knows that it can be both mentally and physically difficult. To cope with the ups and downs of the game, Yada let go of her mistakes and focused on what’s in front of her.
“I made a double yesterday on No. 10,” said Yada. “I forgot about it quick, because I knew that it’s going to happen on this golf course. I bounced back well and took it one hole at a time, one shot at a time.”
Celebrations for Yada’s first win were put on hold, as sleep was at the forefront of her mind.
“I think I need a nap first,” laughed Yada.
Two strokes behind Yada, in solo second place, was Bailey Tardy. The Georgia native was 1-under par during the final round, carding three birdies on the day. Although she didn’t finish on top, Tardy is happy with her result.
“I don’t look at it as I lost today, I look at it as I got beat,” said Tardy. “Yada played an incredible round of golf, and I’m happy to take second.”
Tardy keeps her eyes on the ultimate prize – the top 10. Her second place finish gives her good momentum heading into the last two events of the season, and she feels she’s still in reach to meet her goals.
“Obviously I wanted to win,” said Tardy. “But I was really proud of the way I played this week. There’s just so many positives to take away from this week, even though I didn’t come out on top.”
Kristen Gillman and Jiwon Jeon finished the tournament tied for third at 7-under. Gillman was 1-under on the day, while Jeon shot 1-over. Clariss Guce, Daniela Iacobelli and Kiira Riihijarvi rounded out the top five, sharing fifth place. A total of 24 players finished the week at even-par or better.
QUICK QUOTES
Linnea Strom (-5, T8) on a final round 5-under:
“Obviously it’s a very tough course. The first and second round I played well but didn’t get the scores I was looking for. I had a couple of three putts [earlier this week], but today I saved some good pars on the first couple of holes and then got some birdies going. I tried to keep the momentum from the first two days, and today I putted a little better, so it was good.”
Gabriela Ruffels (-5, T8) on eight final-round birdies:
“It felt good, it was nice to finally get some putts to drop this week. When you’re on a birdie run, and everything’s feeling good, it just kind of happens. That’s exactly how it was today, and if I could keep doing that, it would be good."
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