ROGERS, Arkansas (AP) – Austin Ernst recovered Sunday to win the Walmart NW Arkansas championship for his LPGA Tour momently title, an 8 63 final for a two-shot win over Anna Nordqvist.
With four Nordqvist shots at the start of the round, Ernst had the most productive score of the day, making 10 birdies and two bogeys at Pinnacle Country Club.Se joined 2014 champion Stacy Lewis as the only American winner of the event.
“I knew I needed a low score,” Ernst said.”At the beginning of the week, I had the idea that the 20 minors would win and I think that’s what I got, so I guess I was right.But you knew it, there you had to attack and you couldn’t be afraid and you couldn’t be in the middle of the green all day.”
Nordqvist closed with a 69 after the first match with rounds of 64 and 62 to take a three-stroke lead in the last day.
Ernst opened with 65 in a row to place himself in a position to win for the first time in 144 starts since the 2014 Portland Classic.The 28-year-old former LSU player won the 2011 NCAA individual title.
“It was long, ” said Ernst, much more than I thought.Oh, man, he feels smart. I’ve worked very hard, I think this break has been for me, it helped me regain confidence.I had a tough year last year, I played really well in 2018 and, man, I feel so smart right now.
Ernst recovered from a bogey in par four 13 with a birdie in the par five 1 quarter, and took a two-stroke lead when Nordqvist, betting on the organization behind, made a bogey in the fourth.shoot one, and Ernst made a birdie in 18-five to push the margin to two and the pole at 20 cents.
“I think what has held me back in the afterlife is that I would probably not hit that many fairways and possibly not make as many putts, and I hit the ball really well today, being under the barrel all day,” Ernst said. I’m proud of all the hard work and it’s great to see that it will pay off. “
Nordqvist, the 33-year-old Swede with two primary titles and six more LPGA Tour victories, also made bogeys from 12-4, her first loss of the week.He played all four holes par five in 1, while Ernst received the mall.
“I played really well this week,” Nordqvist said. I felt like I wasn’t meant to be.In the last nine, I hit a lot of smart putts. They just didn’t come in.Two bad trips that killed me”.a littleArray … So a lot of positives this week.I also felt like I’d done a lot of smart things today.
Angela Stanford (65) and Nelly Korda (67) were third at 16, Jenny Shin (68) and Sei Young Kim (69) were 15 years younger.
Kim made her first start on the LPGA tour since January.The South Korean player skipped the British Women’s Open last week and is in a position to play ANA Inspiration in two weeks in the California desert.
DIVOTES: Ernst is the third American winner this season, after Danielle Kang (Drive On Championship, Marathon Classic) and Lewis (Ladies Scottish Open). Lewis, the former star of the University of Arkansas, finished with a 70 draw in the 28-nine-down spot…. 16-year-old Florida fan Alexa Pano played with a sponsor waiver, another comeback opportunity after a 66.