Corpuz pulls away for US Women’s Open title
25-year-old from Kapolei wins major, her 1st LPGA Tour title, by 3 shots at Pebble Beach
By DOUG FERGUSON
The Associated Press
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Allisen Corpuz found herself on the biggest and most beautiful stage in women’s golf and made it look like a stroll on the beach.
Never mind that she had never won on the LPGA Tour or that she had heard all week about the historic occasion of the U.S. Women’s Open held at Pebble Beach for the first time. Nothing could make her crack.
“Every few holes I kind of looked out and said, ‘I’m here at Pebble Beach. There’s not many places that are better than this,’ “ Corpuz said.
There weren’t many better performances, either. Corpuz turned a tight duel with Nasa Hataoka into a runaway, closing with a 3-under 69 on Sunday for a three-shot victory to become the first American in 20 years to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA title.
At Pebble Beach, no less.
The 25-year-old from Kapolei, Oahu, was calm and cool, no matter the shot or the circumstances, until reality set in as she took a three-shot lead down the 18th fairway. It’s a path taken over the years by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods, all of them U.S. Open champions at Pebble Beach.
“Just knowing the history …Tiger just absolutely annihilated this place. Yeah, it’s really special,” Corpuz said. “Twenty, 30 years from now, I think just the fact that it’s a U.S. Open means a lot to me. But know that it’s at Pebble makes it even sweeter.”
She won by three shots over Charley Hull (66) and Jiyai Shin (68) and claimed the $2 million prize, the richest ever for an LPGA major champion.
Corpuz couldn’t contain a wide smile when she tapped in for par, only to cover it with her hand as the tears began to flow. She wiped them with her Aloha-print towel.
Former President Barack Obama was among the first to congratulate her on Twitter. Both went to Punahou School.
“Unreal,” Corpuz said. “This week has felt like a dream come true.”
Hilary Lunke in 2003 at Pumpkin Ridge was the last American to get her first win at the U.S. Women’s Open, that one in a three-way Monday playoff.
Corpuz, who finished at 9-under 279, was the only player to break par all four days.
Corpuz never gave anyone much of a chance. Hataoka lost her one-shot lead on the opening hole when Corpuz hit her approach to 5 feet for birdie, and the 24-year-old from Japan dropped too many shots down the home stretch.
They were tied at the turn until Corpuz hit her approach to just inside 10 feet for birdie on the 10th. The key moment was at the par-3 12th, when Corpuz came up short in the bunker and had 15 feet for par. Hataoka rolled her birdie putt from the fringe 5 feet by the hole. Corpuz made her par, Hataoka missed her putt and the lead was at two.
It only got larger, Corpuz stretching it to four shots with superb wedges to 8 feet on the par-5 14th and 4 feet on the 15th, both birdies that made the final act a battle for second place.
Corpuz joins Michelle Wie West as the only major champions from Hawaii — Wie West won the Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014 and played her final major this week at Pebble Beach.
They are linked by the Aloha State, their high school (Punahou) and their emphasis on education — Wie West graduated from Stanford, Corpuz got a business degree and an MBA from USC — and their early start in USGA events. Corpuz broke Wie West’s record as the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links as a 10-year-old.
“I never really thought I’d get this far. Just watching Michelle, she’s been such a huge role model to me, and it was really awesome to break her record for the Public Links,” Corpuz said. “But I’ve never really compared myself to her. I’ve always wanted to make my own name. She’s just served as a really big inspiration.”
Corpuz was playing in her 19th USGA championship. She knows the USGA formula of fairways and greens, and loads of patience. She is built for this, especially given her concentration that not even a gorgeous day on the Monterey Peninsula could crack.
Officiating behind the fifth green was Mary Bea Porter King, the pioneer of junior golf in Hawaii and one of the most influential figures in the game. Corpuz first came into the Hawaii junior program at age 7.
“She’s always been calm, cool and … I won’t say serious, but she just plodded along. She was sort of a giant killer,” Porter King said. “I don’t think she was fearful of anything.”
• U.S. Women’s Open
Sunday’s Top Finishers • At Pebble Beach, Calif.
Allisen Corpuz, $2,000,000 69-70-71-69–279 -9
Charley Hull, $969,231 73-72-71-66–282 -6
Jiyai Shin, $969,231 71-73-70-68–282 -6
Nasa Hataoka, $482,136 69-74-66-76–285 -3
Bailey Tardy, $482,136 69-68-75-73–285 -3
Ayaka Furue, $369,403 74-70-73-69–286 -2
Hyo Joo Kim, $369,403 68-71-73-74–286 -2
Hae-Ran Ryu, $313,713 69-72-73-74–288 E
Maja Stark, $272,355 72-73-72-72–289 +1
Rose Zhang, $272,355 74-71-72-72–289 +1
Ally Ewing, $237,993 73-73-76-68–290 +2
Brooke Henderson, $220,050 71-75-73-72–291 +3
Hannah Green, $167,641 76-71-76-69–292 +4
Grace Kim, $167,641 74-76-71-71–292 +4
Sei Young Kim, $167,641 74-75-72-71–292 +4
Aya Kinoshita, $167,641 77-72-71-72–292 +4
Minjee Lee, $167,641 72-73-72-75–292 +4
Xiyu Lin, $167,641 68-77-75-72–292 +4
Min Ji Park, $167,641 77-73-71-71–292 +4
Hye Jin Choi, $106,269 79-68-73-73–293 +5
Carlota Ciganda, $106,269 74-76-71-72–293 +5
Andrea Lee, $106,269 74-73-73-73–293 +5
Lizette Salas, $106,269 74-74-72-73–293 +5
Yuka Saso, $106,269 72-75-75-71–293 +5
Ruoning Yin, $106,269 71-74-76-72–293 +5
Angel Yin, $106,269 71-73-72-77–293 +5