It wasn’t even close. Stacy Lewis cruised to an easy victory on Sunday by shooting seven-under par 64 at the North Texas Shootout. The six-shot win over runner-up Meena Lee from South Korea gave Lewis her ninth LPGA tour title. Lewis finished the tournament with a score of 268, 16 under par.
It was close going into Sunday’s final day, Lee and Lewis were actually tied for the lead. However, Lewis had a birdie at 12, made par at 15, and then hit subsequent back to back birdies at 17 and 18. The clutch shots were enough to put Lewis in a comfortable lead. She said of her play, “Making par on 15 was huge. After hitting what I thought was a good tee shot and then, you know, going in the water, but still making par, I mean that just kind of summarized the day.”
It was the largest margin of victory at an LPGA Tournament since Shin Jiyah of South Korea won the 2012 Women’s British Open by nine strokes. The victory on Sunday combined with six second place finishes in the her past 16 tourneys should move Lewis over Lydia Ko from number three in the world rankings up a spot to number two. Inbee Park, the tournament’s defending champ, finished the day tied for 14th place. The score will be good enough for the South Korean to maintain her top spot in the world rankings.
Congrats to Stacy Lewis on her LPGA North Texas Shootout win! What a Story Stacy Lewis is. An inspiration to all… http://t.co/mhmfLNj9pF
— BiGGs GOLF TALK (@BiGGsGOLFTALK) May 5, 2014
Congrats @Stacy_Lewis ! @Lexi and I celebrating –soda and beer spray on the winner! pic.twitter.com/QB9i0UuTxc
— Natalie Gulbis (@natalie_gulbis) May 5, 2014
“It’s awesome. It’s relief more than anything. I’ve been so close the last few months, you know, maybe if I win one of those, I don’t get it done here,” Lewis said. “So I think it was all meant to be. Just to be here with my family.”
The Texas native was happy to win a hometown tournament and prove once again why she is one of the best golfers in the world, “Just to do it here at home, in front of all these fans was pretty cool.”
American Michelle Wie finished the tournament in third place. Na Yeon Choi (69) and Kim Kauffman (70) tied for fourth at 8 under, Lexi Thompson (69), Cristie Kerr (71) and Suzann Pettersen (72) finished tied at 7 under.
Image via Stacy Lewis, Twitter