Meijer LPGA Classic: Plenty to take away from thrilling week at Blythefield
BELMONT - It was a week of thrilling finishes, aces, eagles and triumphant redemption with Leona Maguire winning the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give after finishing runner-up the past two years.
The tournament also saw many of the big names struggle, and a plethora of golfers experience what Maguire has the past two years - coming up just short despite a stellar performance.
And all of this comes with a major next week - the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Here are the big takeaways from a stellar week of golf at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Mich.
Leona Maguire finally the best of a stacked leaderboard at Meijer LPGA Classic
After two consecutive runner-up finishes, including a heartbreaking playoff loss, Ireland's Leona Maguire used a late-round surge to break away from the pack and win the championship.
Heading into Sunday, Maguire was tied for fifth at 13-under.
With a goal of reaching 20-under, Maguire was 8-under for the final round to turn a two-shot deficit into a two-shot win.
Ariya Jutanugarn finished second at 19-under, followed by Xiju Janet Lin and Amy Yang, who finished tied for third at 18-under, ahead of Hyo Joo Kim (16-under).
Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho was in contention early after a hole-in-one, but a couple of bogeys kept her out of it at the end and she finished tied for sixth at 15-under.
Twelve players were within four shots of the lead to start the tournament, but only four finished within four shots of the lead in the end thank's to Maguire's 64.
Blythefield has become famous for low scores and close rounds. In nine years, multiple tournaments have finished in playoffs and the leaderboard is generally packed until the middle of the final day if not all the way until the 18th.
It is no wonder that has translated into thousands in attendance as the Meijer LPGA Classic has become one of the top non-major venues year after year.
Tough week for Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and big names
While Brooke Henderson rallied to make the cut with a birdie on 18 on Friday, it was still a tough tournament for the only two-time winner at Blythefield.
Henderson finished 9-under, tied for 42nd.
It was even tougher for Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko, two of the biggest names on tour, who both missed the cut, along with familiar names like Lizette Salas, Cristie Kerr and Brittany Lincicome.
Calendar challenges alter field with Rose Zhang, others out
The biggest upstart in years on the LPGA Tour, Rose Zhang, is just two weeks removed from her first win - on her first tournament. She was the first golfer since 1951 to accomplish that feat on the LPGA Tour.
But she was back at Stanford for finals.
Meanwhile, with the KPMG Women's PGA Championship next week, many golfers were at Blythefield looking to work on their game.
But several of the world's top players were not in West Michigan, working on things before the major on their own, rather than get overloaded with travel.
It added up to a different field, but it also added up to a thrilling finale.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Meijer LPGA Classic: Plenty to take away from thrilling week at Blythefield
