Lucy Li came close to securing her first victory on the LPGA Tour. The golfer, who will always be known as the ice cream girl, started the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship from the 25th position, made no less than three eagles this Sunday, delivered an extraordinary card of 60 strokes, the best of her career and the history of the tournament, and finally fell in the second playoff hole to Thai golfer Jasmine Suwannapura. Both had finished the 54 holes of the tournament tied at -17.
The battle for victory was grand. One of those memorable rounds of golf. A fabulous duel at the Pinnacle Country Club. There wasn’t much more that Li and Suwannapura could have done to win a tournament. The winner, who teed off just behind Li, shot 61 strokes and finished with an eagle to force the playoff on the 18th hole and another one on the second playoff hole to take the victory. Impressive. Both finished the tournament with a 28-stroke score on their second nine holes.
Li will always be known as the ice cream girl for her iconic image at the 2014 US Open. She qualified to play it at just 11 years old and was the main attraction of the week at Pinehurst for her golf and, above all, her boldness. In the middle of the round, she bought an ice cream and ate it while waiting on a tee for her turn to hit the ball. Just normal. Kid stuff. Since then, she hasn’t stopped growing. Step by step. She continued winning tournaments as a junior, as an amateur, and reached the LPGA Tour through the Epson Tour. The natural evolution. She has her card absolutely secured and this Sunday she was closer than ever to her first triumph in the top division. Little can be reproached, and that despite starting with a birdie on the 1st and then committing two bogeys in three holes due to three-putts. From there, madness, a twelve-under-par in fourteen holes.
For her part, Suwannapura achieved the third victory of her career on the LPGA Tour. On the first playoff hole, both golfers putted for eagle but didn’t hole out. On the second, Jasmine holed a four and a half meter putt for eagle to take the win. An exceptional outcome.
As for the Spanish players, Carlota Ciganda (-8), who started the tournament in second position, just one stroke behind Suwannapura, paid dearly for a poor second round of 73 strokes, two over par. She recovered with a good performance on Sunday, 68 strokes, but it was barely enough to finish in 27th position. Meanwhile, Azahara Muñoz and Ana Peláez missed the cut after two rounds on Saturday where things didn’t go their way. Both are on the ropes in the fight to save their cards. They only have one more chance in Florida, as the upcoming tournaments in the Asian swing are reduced field events and it seems they won’t be able to enter, at least in most of them.
