Charley Hull tied the 72-hole scoring record with an 18-under, 266 total to win her second LPGA Tour title at the Ascendant LPGA by one shot.
2016 ➡️ 2022@HullCharley is an LPGA Tour Champion once again. pic.twitter.com/Rp88SMkLB5
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 2, 2022
“I love a challenge, and this golf course is challenging. I play off the backs at home, off the back tees with the boys, and I always try and push myself to tricky golf courses at home so when I come on Tour, they’re a bit shorter and a good length. So this week I felt like it very much suited my game. I found it very scorable for myself.”
Xiyu Lin put some late pressure on Hull with an eagle on the par-5 17th to tie the lead but missed an 18-foot birdie putt that would have sent them to a playoff.
“When Xiyu made eagle on 17, I kind of enjoyed that,” said the Englishwoman. “It made me want to birdie the last. Hit a good putt, I missed, but it was great fun. I find stuff like that fun because it puts the pressure on me, and then I’ve got to commit and do it.You know what I mean? No, I really enjoyed that”
Hull won her first LPGA Tour title at the 2016 CME Group Tour Championship. Since then she has come second at the 2018 LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship and the 2019 CME Group Tour Championship. This season she has had four top-10 finishes and three additional top-20 finishes.
“I’ve had some good results this year. Had a very similar season to my 2016 season, so I’m actually happy I’ve got a couple events left as well, because I felt like in the 2016 season if I had a few more I could have pushed on”
CLUTCH 💥@JanetLinXiYu rolls in an eagle to tie the lead in Texas pic.twitter.com/Ho4eqA2ODl
— LPGA (@LPGA) October 2, 2022
China’s Lin has now finished in the top-10 five times and had eight additional top-20s this season.
“Actually,at the beginning of the week you’re telling me I’m going to shoot 17-under here and finish second I will take this any time, because I always found this course is very challenging for myself,” said Lin. “My game is not at the top, but I think I manage it really well, and today especially last couple holes I try really hard and I make some really, really good putts. So overall, I’m proud of myself.”
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko contended for the title even tying Hull’s lead at one point but closed with a bogey-free 65 to finish third at 16-under, her best finish since she won the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio.
Rookie Atthaya Thitikul, who won last week in Arkansas, finished fourth at 12-under.
