CINCINNATI — Ally Ewing ran off 5 straight birdies on the again 9 Sunday and closed with a 7-under 65 to carry off Xiyu Lin and win the Kroger Queen Metropolis Championship within the LPGA Tour’s return to Cincinnati.
Ewing now has three profession wins, one in every of the previous three years, although she got here into this match with no top-10 end all 12 months.
The 29-year-old American performed bogey-free on a rain-softened course and was pushed to the very finish by Lin, who birdied two of her closing three holes for a 65.
Maria Fassi of Mexico had a 71 and completed alone in third for her finest LPGA end.
Lin began the ultimate spherical two photographs behind and made up floor rapidly with a pair of birdies. Ewing needed to make a 7-footer to match birdies with Lin on the par-5 twelfth and keep tied, after which the American saved going.
Ewing took the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the par-4 thirteenth, made a 10-foot birdie on the following gap, hit wedge to eight toes for birdie on the par-5 fifteenth after which made her fifth in a row on the sixteenth after Lin additionally had birdied.
Lin made an 18-foot birdie on the 456-yard closing gap right into a breeze — solely the twentieth birdie all week on No. 18 — to create just a little further stress. Ewing had come up wanting the inexperienced and elected to make use of putter by means of about 5 toes of moist fairway grass.
She gave it a very good pop, and the putt rolled out to three toes left of the outlet. After Lin made her birdie, Ewing calmly rapped within the par to complete at 22-under 266.
The victory got here at a very good time for Ewing, who final month determined to shorten her placing stroke in an effort to seek out one thing.
“The important thing for me is figuring out it is in there,” Ewing mentioned after getting soaked by glowing wine on the 18th inexperienced. “The change I made a few weeks earlier than Canada … this week I noticed putts go in. And as soon as I noticed them go in, I had confidence.”
One in all them was for par. Ewing began with eight pars as Lin acquired off to a very good begin, and Ewing needed to make a 6-foot par putt on No. 7 to keep away from falling behind.
“It was only a 6-footer,” Ewing mentioned, “however I noticed a 6-footer go in.”
Lin fell two photographs behind when she did not birdie the par-5 fifteenth, although she gave herself good possibilities and transformed two of them.
The 26-year-old from China, who goes by “Janet,” remains to be on the lookout for her first win.
“I did no matter I can do,” Lin mentioned. “I had top-of-the-line rounds I performed all 12 months. I got here out second, which is just a little unhappy. However Ally performed so properly. Congrats to her.”
Ewing has reached the CME Group Tour Championship for the highest 60 gamers yearly since 2017, and this 12 months was trying bleak with no high 10. She was at No. 70 within the Race to CME Globe, and the victory takes her to No. 30 and assures her spot in Naples, Florida, within the season finale in November.
