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 Yani Tseng, the 19-year-old rookie who plays out of Oak Valley Golf Club in Beaumont, saw her wildest dream come true sooner than ever expected when she birdied the fourth playoff hole Sunday afternoon to become the youngest woman ever to win the LPGA Championship. With her victory at the McDonald’s LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md., Tseng also becomes the second-youngest player (at 19 years, four months) to win a major, the first Taiwanese woman to win a major and the first rookie to win a major in 10 years. “I said to Taiwan media and I said to everybody that I was going to be first one [from Taiwan] to win a major. And I did it,” a smiling Tseng, wearing a Oak Valley logo cap, said during the televised presentation ceremony. Tseng, who shot a four-under-par 68 in the final round, made a 5-foot birdie on the 18th hole — the fourth playoff hole — to beat Maria Hjorth of Sweden. Both players finished at 12-under-par 276. “Wow. What a great game for her. This will be the first win of many,” said Kai Chang, general manager of Oak Valley. “She accomplished her goal and in doing so become the youngest [player] to win this prestigious event. We are so proud of her.” Tseng has been close to winning since the season began. In April, she took second place at the Ginn Open in Reunion, Fla., three strokes behind winner Lorena Ochoa. Her 8-under-par 64 during the second round on the Ginn was the lowest round of any rookie this season. Tseng finished a stroke behind fellow rookie Louise Friberg, who won the MasterCard Classic held in Mexico City in March. Tseng tied for 8th place at the SBS Open at Turtle Bay and tied for 25th at the Fields Open in Hawaii. To come out on top Sunday, Tseng outlasted No. 1-ranked Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, who both had opportunities to make the playoff. Ochoa birdied two of the last three holes after going 14 holes without a birdie, and finished one shot out of the playoff at 71. Sorenstam missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole, also carding a 71. “I was very nervous playing in the playoff. I told myself, ‘Just like [when competing as an] amateur, relax,’” Tseng said. Yet Tseng had all the appearances of an accomplished veteran when she stepped on the tee box to play the 18th hole for the third time in an hour. Her second shot out of the first cut stopped 5 feet behind the flag. Hjorth missed a 12-foot birdie before Tseng holed the winning putt. In her comments as a broadcaster on the Golf Channel, retired LPGA player Dottie Pepper said she had a feeling Tseng would persevere in the sudden-death playoff. In her 19 amateur victories around the world, Tseng often came from behind. She rallied to beat 14-year-old Michelle Wie in the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, and a year later defeated Morgan Pressel in the North & South Amateur. “She drew on her amateur record, which was so good,” Pepper said of Tseng. “She said, ‘You know I’ve done this before. I’ve won in extra holes against great players. I can do this again,’ and she really played like a veteran when you would have thought she would have been crazy nervous and she was not.” Tseng’s youth belies the years of competitive experience she has under her belt. The international player built a foundation as a winning amateur while spending summers living in Beaumont and taking instruction at Oak Valley. Club manager Chang and San Diego resident Ernie Huang served as mentors while Tseng competed in U.S. Asian Junior Golf Association and USGA events. Tseng receives short-game and putting instruction from two-time PGA Champion and Champions Tour player Dave Stockton and his son Ron Stockton, who played on the PGA Tour and is a member of the University of Redlands’ Hall of Fame. |
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