Stacy Lewis
Stacy Lewis became the fourth player in LPGA history to record her first career LPGA win at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, overcoming the challenge of defending champion Yani Tseng to take a three-shot victory in the LPGA’s first major of the 2011 season.
Lewis, 26, fired a 3-under 69 in the final round to become a Rolex First-Time Winner and celebrated by taking the ceremonial leap into Poppie’s Pond with her caddy, Travis Wilson, her mother, Carol, her father, Dale, and her sister Janet.
Lewis joined the group of Helen Alfredsson (1993), Nancy Bowen (1995) and Morgan Pressel (2007), who all tallied their first win at the Kraft Nabisco.
Lewis entered the day sitting two shots back of Tseng and it was a tightly contested back-and-forth battle between the two of them throughout the day. Lewis and Tseng exchanged birdies on hole No. 2 and then weren’t separated by more than a shot on the front nine following Lewis’ birdie on No. 3. Lewis took over the lead at the ninth hole when she birdied the par-5 and Tseng bogeyed it. It was a lead she wouldn’t relinquish.
Lewis’ win at the Kraft Nabisco is just another chapter in her inspiring story. She overcame a battle with scoliosis that began at age 11 and caused her to wear a back brace for 18 hours a day for 7 ½ years, removing it only to play golf. And after her senior year of high school, Lewis underwent surgery to place a titanium rod and five screws in her back.
Due to the surgery, Lewis red-shirted her freshman year at the University of Arkansas and began playing for the women’s golf team in the fall of 2004. In 2007, Lewis won the NCAA individual title and finished her collegiate career as one of the most decorated collegiate golfers, recording a total of 12 victories. The following year, 2008, she was a member of the U.S. team at the Curtis Cup before turning pro that June.
Lewis credits her strong faith for helping her achieve success in her career and she’s tried to help spread that message of faith to others. This past December, Lewis and her mother, Carol, joined Betsy King on a mission trip to Rwanda as part of King’s Golf Fore Africa charity. And just before teeing off in Wednesday’s pro-am at the Kraft Nabisco, Lewis had to rely on her faith once again when she learned that her grandfather, Al Lewis, had passed away at the age of 84. Stacy’s father, Dale, was introduced to golf by his father, Al, and it was that passion that he later shared with Stacy.
The 26-year-old’s previous best finish in a major was a tie for third at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen and her best finish at the Kraft Nabisco had come in 2007 when she tied for fifth as an amateur.
The final round leaderboard at the Kraft Nabisco featured a few previous major winners. Tseng, a three-time major winner and defending Kraft Nabisco champion, finished second to Lewis at 10-under-par following her 2-over-par 74 in the final round. Morgan Pressel, the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship winner, finished in a tie for third at 4-under-par after shooting a final-round 76.
Ariya Jutanugarn, who was the only amateur to make the cut at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, shot a 1-over 73 in Sunday’s final round. A native of Thailand, Jutanugarn finished the tournament at three-over-par and tied for 28th.
Stacy Lewis, Angela Stanford and Katie Futcher punched their "Ticket to CME GroupTitleholders" at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, each earning a spot in the season-ending CME Group Titleholders event, which will be held November 17th - 20th, 2011 at Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.
The inaugural CME Group Titleholders, a season finale with a field made up of three qualifiers from every LPGA Tour tournament, is a format never previously used in professional golf.
With her victory at the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship, Stacy Lewis earned an all-inclusive stay for two at a Canyon Ranch resort. In a combined effort to promote health and overall well-being among Tour players, Canyon Ranch will provide every winner of an LPGA event with one all-inclusive stay at one of Canyon Ranch's two destination resorts.
Michelle Wie shot a three-over-par 75 on Sunday to finish in sixth place at three-over-par for the tournament.
The final leaderboard featured a number of active LPGA and World of Golf Halls of Fame members with Se Ri Pak, Karrie Webb and Juli Inkster all finishing in the top 15. Pak tied for 10th at 1-under-par 287, Webb was tied for 13th at even-par and Inkster tied for 15th at 1-over-par
Last week’s Kia Classic winner Sandra Gal shot a final-round 73 to finish at 1-over-par for the tournament and in a tie for 15th place.
The heat was a big topic of conversation in the first two rounds of the Kraft Nabisco Championship, but cooler temperatures also brought strong winds and tougher scoring conditions for the final round. Winds gusted to 20 mph on Sunday and only three players shot in the 60s in the final round, which included winner Stacy Lewis.
