Carlota Ciganda won the Meijer LPGA Classic, marking her first victory on the LPGA Tour in over eight and a half years. The Spanish golfer demonstrated her skill by making birdies on the last two holes of the tournament.
Ciganda, with an outstanding performance, holed the ball a foot away to secure a birdie on the 17th hole, a par 4. Then, she kept her cool and converted a four-foot putt on the 18th hole, a par 5, thus avoiding a tiebreaker with her playing partner, Hye-Jin Choi.
The day began with a tie among six players at the Blythefield County Club. Ciganda, with a round of 67 strokes, five under par, added her fourth consecutive round under 70 strokes. She finished the tournament with a total of 272 strokes, 16 under par, on a tree-lined course. This event served as a prelude to the important KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Texas.
This victory represents the first triumph of the 35-year-old Spanish golfer since the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in 2016, a period of eight years, seven months, and two days. Ciganda has three victories on the LPGA Tour and eight on the Ladies European Tour, the most recent at the Open de España Femenino in December.Hye-Jin Choi completed the tournament with a round of 68 strokes, also with rounds under 70 during the four days. Somi Lee, from South Korea, placed third with 14 under par, after a round of 65 strokes.
Lexi Thompson finished with 70 strokes, tying for fourth place with Celine Boutier (67) and Nanna Koerstz Madsen (70). Thompson, winner in Blythefield in 2015, was looking for her twelfth title on the LPGA Tour, but struggled in the final holes.
Thompson, 30, had problems on the 16th hole, where his focus was not the best and he ended up missing a putt for par. On the 17th hole, he missed a three-foot putt that prevented him from getting closer to victory.
Last year, Thompson lost in a playoff against Lilia Vu at this very event.
Ciganda tied Beatriz Recari as the Spanish player with the most victories on the LPGA Tour. In addition, Ciganda, former Arizona State player, becomes the oldest winner on the LPGA Tour since Eun-Hee Ji, who won the T-Mobile Match Play in 2022 at 36 years old.
