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Feng wins Volvik, captures 7th career LPGA title
By
Associated Press
May 28, 2017, 3:23 pm

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Shanshan Feng shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday to win the LPGA Volvik Championship by one stroke over Minjee Lee and Sung Hyun Park.

Feng earned her first victory of the season and seventh of her career. She led by one shot after a bogey-free third round Saturday, then kept the competition at bay on the 6,734-yard course at Travis Pointe Country Club.

Feng, a bronze medalist for China at the 2016 Olympics, led by four strokes with four holes to play, but she made a bogey on No. 16 and Lee birdied 17. Needing a bogey on the 18th to win, Feng easily tapped in for one and finished at 19-under 269.

Lee (65) made six birdies on the front nine, and Park (66) made four on the back.

Lee knew she needed a strong finish to catch Feng, and after her birdie on No. 17, she tried to reach the green on the par-5 18th in two. She missed well to the left and ended up near the scoring tent. Lee scrambled to make par, but Feng still had room for error as she was finishing her round.

Feng's second shot on 18 left her behind a bunker near the green, and her shot from there still came up short of the putting surface. When she did reach the green, she still had two putts for the win from a pretty short distance.

Lizette Salas (69) and Jeong Eun Lee (67) finished tied for fourth, two strokes behind.

Lydia Ko skipped this event but remains No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. So Yeon Ryu and Ariya Jutanugarn each could have displaced her this week, but Ryu (72) finished tied for 56th at 3 under, and Jutanugarn (71) - the defending champion at this event - was 11 under and tied for 21st. Ryu had finished in the top 10 in 11 consecutive events, dating to last season.

Feng finished last year strong after her Olympic medal, winning twice to cap a streak of six straight tour finishes in the top four. This, however, was her first victory on American soil since the CME Group Titleholders in 2013.

Feng's most recent LPGA win before Sunday was at last year's TOTO Japan Classic, and the ending was similar. She took a three-shot lead to the final hole, then made a double bogey that was enough for a one-stroke victory.

Article Tags: Shanshan Feng, 2017 LPGA Volvik Championship