After a long weekend that felt like a puzzle being put together, the French Lick Charity Classic crowned a champion. Xiaowen Yin earned back-to-back wins, jumping from No. 24 on the Official Money list before last week’s FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship, to current No. 2.
“I feel incredible,” said Yin. “Unbelievable. Amazing.”
Yin finished her third round Sunday morning, before heading back out for the final 18. She jumped from T3 to solo lead after three consecutive birdies on No. 14, 15 and 16.
“I didn’t realize I could win,” said Yin. “I was thinking maybe third place or second place, I’ll take it. But I never thought I could win. Seriously.”
Yin’s 3-under final round and 7-under tournament secured her the victory over round three leader, Gabriella Then.
Then finished one stroke behind Yin in solo second at 6-under. She started her round strong, balancing two bogeys with two birdies, but fell short of Yin’s run on the back nine.
In solo third, at 5-under, was Polly Mack. Mack made a run from behind, shooting the low round of the day at 4-under. The German carded four birdies and a lone eagle on the day.
“For me, it was just a really nice and successful feeling,” said Mack. “I still can’t describe it. The birdies were flowing, and I just didn’t expect it to go this well. It’s so hard to make birdies out here, and I felt that the first two days.”
Rounding out the top-5 were Daniela Darquea at 4-under and Linnea Strom at 3-under. The duo shot rounds of even-par and 1-over, respectively. A total of twelve players shot even par or better during the challenging 72-hole weekend.
)
)
)
)
