Allisen Corpuz finished three shots clear of England's Charley Hull and Jiyai Shin of South Korea to win the US Women's Open at Pebble Beach; Victory was her maiden major title and first LPGA Tour win
Monday 10 July 2023 12:56, UK
Allisen Corpuz secured a maiden major title with an impressive victory at the US Women’s Open, as England’s Charley Hull shared second after a strong finish in California.
Corpuz mixed six birdies with three bogeys in tough conditions at Pebble Beach Golf Links to post a three-under 69 and end the week on nine under, with the American the only player to finish all four rounds under par.
Hull fired a brilliant final-round 66 to jump into a share of second with South Korea's Jiyai Shin, while overnight leader Nasa Hataoka stumbled on the back nine and dropped into tied-fourth after a four-over 76.
Corpuz's success was her first win of any kind on the LPGA Tour and earned her a $2m share of the $11m prize pool, both records for women's professional golf.
The 25-year-old began the day a shot behind Hataoka but quickly moved ahead with two birdies in her first three holes, then bogeyed the fourth and saw a birdie at the seventh cancelled out by a dropped shot at the ninth to leave the pair tied for the lead at the turn.
A birdie at the par-four 10th gave Corpuz an outright lead she would retain throughout the rest of the round, posting back-to-back birdies from the 14th as Hataoka made four bogeys in a six-hole stretch to end her victory hopes.
Corpuz dropped a shot at the par-three 17th but still held a commanding lead heading to the par-four last, where a par was enough to complete an emotional victory.
Every few holes I just kind of looked out and said, I'm out here at Pebble Beach,'" Corpuz said at the trophy presentation. "There's not many places that are better than this."
"My coach told me 'no one is going to give it to you,' and I think I've just played a little conservatively in the past. Just really went out there and told myself I had the game to do it [Sunday]."
England's Hull got off to a superb start with an eagle on the par-five second and charged up the leaderboard with six birdies offset by two bogeys, seeing her equal her best finish in a major.
"I'm quite an aggressive person when it comes to life," said Hull. "I like to go for pins. At the end of the day it's just a game, and might as well make it fun."
Shi joined Hull in second after a final-hole birdie closed a four-under 68, while halfway leader Bailey Tardy joined Hataoka six strokes back in fourth.
Ayaka Furue of Japan shot a 69, tying South Korea's Hyo Joo Kim (74) for sixth, while Rose Zhang posted a 72 to secure another major top 10 alongside Sweden's Maja Stark.
The LPGA Tour heads to Ohio next for the Dana Open at Highland Meadows Golf Club, beginning Thursday, while the next women's major is the Amundi Evian Championship in France from July 27-30.
