LPGA Match-Play 2021 5
May 26-30
Shadow Creek, Las Vegas, Nevada
$1,500,000
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

American Ally Ewing made a 3-foot putt on the 17th and won the inaugural Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play Hosted by Shadow Creek in a 2&1 victory over Germany's Sophia Popov in blisteringly hot conditions.

LPGA Match-Play 2021 5

“It was exhausting. I think I was limping in on the finish line really. Fatigue was definitely a factor. Four rounds of stroke play, 18, 18, 18, 18 is a grueling week, especially if you're in contention,” said Ewing. “This week was unlike any other. I'm definitely going to have to tape up the feet I think for another week, but well worth it.”

Ewing struck the first blow, winning the second hole to go 1 Up. A birdie at the 6th place her 2 Up through to the 10th hole. Popov parred the 11th and Ewing stayed 1 until she drained a 62-foot birdie putt at the 14th regaining her 2-Up lead.

LPGA Match-Play 2021 5

“Made a few in the 40, 45-foot range but 60-footers you don't see go in very often,” said Ewing. “Yeah, it was a blessing at the right time.”

“I think if it hadn't hit the hole, could have been maybe 5, 6 feet by and I think the scenario is totally different,” said Popov. “But she made that putt, and I think for me personally, it was probably, especially after playing that many holes, I think it was just a real momentum killer, a little bit of a dagger in the heart.”

Popov's tee shot at the 15th found a hazard and was unplayable, she bogeyed the hole as did Ewing whose second shot found a hazard and had to play with one foot in the water.

LPGA Match-Play 2021 5

Ewing's tee shot at the 17th landed in the water giving Popov a chance but her tee shot landed in the left greenside bunker and her next went across the green into the rough.

Popov rolled 15 feet past the hole while Ewing was on the green for double-bogey and made the 3-foot putt for her second LPGA victory following the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee.

"It's a very difficult green to hit, especially as firm as it is. Maybe under a different circumstances where the green was a little bit softer it might have led to maybe some more favorable bounces," said Ewing. "But, yeah, I didn't foresee a 5 getting it done, but it did, and it's just a tough hole. That's what it is. Like you said, it's match play. I still had to make a 3- or 4-footer to get it done, and rolled it in."

LPGA Match-Play 2021 5