Pettersen gets 'bucket list' win at Evian Championship
Suzann Pettersen of Norway shot 3-under-par 68 in the final round on Sunday to capture the Evian Championship by two strokes over 16-year-old amateur Lydia Ko of New Zealand at Evian Masters Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France.
The 32-year-old Pettersen, who won for the 13th time in her LPGA Tour career, overcame windy conditions to claim a second major title, also having won the 2007 LPGA Championship.
"This was by far on my bucket list to win the Evian Championship now that it's become a major," Pettersen said. "But also, they have been such a great supporter of this. This is my 12th or 13th time I'm here. This was good timing to win this tournament."
Pettersen grabbed the lead with birdies on the second and third holes, and wavered only when she made a bogey on the seventh hole. She bounced back with a birdie on No. 8 and added another at No. 15 en route to her third victory of the season.
"I don't know if it's actually sunk in that I've actually won another major," Pettersen said. "All you're trying to do is go out there and win tournaments. Today I thought we were going to fight the weather more than we did. It was almost like a walk in the park just staying dry."
Ko, who was trying to become the youngest major champion in golf history, closed with a 70. She started birdie-bogey-birdie, but could add only one more birdie, at No. 15.
Lexi Thompson, the 18-year-old from Coral Springs, Fla., posted a final-round 68 to finish alone in third, while five-time major champion Se Ri Pak of South Korea posted a 71 to tie for fourth with So Yeon Ryu, also of South Korea, who came in at 71.
Top-ranked Inbee Park of South Korea, who was trying to become the first golfer to win four LPGA majors in a year, never was in the chase and wound up in a tie for 67th.
Mika Miyazato of Japan, who led the after first two rounds with scores of 65-69, struggled to a 79 on Sunday and slid to a tie for 19th.
The tournament was shortened to 54 holes because rain wiped out the scheduled first round on Thursday.
