Veteran Kris Tamulis nabs first LPGA Tour win

Kris Tamulis won the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title. None completed more than 14 holes in the third round.

Tamulis was all smiles at the end. Then, a long birdie putt, hit seemingly perfectly on line, stopped inches shy of the final hole. “I get off to a good start, and three more rounds to go and keep it going”.

“It was incredible”, Tamulis said. Both parred the final hole with a chance to force a playoff. Tamulis had about 45 minutes to sweat the win out.

“It was just one of those days, it was so enjoyable”, Lang told reporters after soaring to the top of the leaderboard with nine birdies and two bogeys.

Yani Tseng closed with an eagle and a birdie for an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke lead Friday in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.

The four-day tournament is being held on the Senator Course at the Capitol Hill Golf Club, which is located just 95 miles southeast of Tuscaloosa, and tees off Thursday morning. A friend kept her updated. She’ll be well worth watching, as will her former college roommate, Stephanie Meadow, who has been struggling this year to find her rhythm on the pro golf stage. She finished her third round with a score of 67 (-5).

She boasts a 5-4-2 overall record for a total of six career points and was the leading point-earner (3) for the U.S.in Colorado in 2013.

“We were trying to beat the weather all day and I think we were really lucky that we finished today”, Tamulis said. Her expression matched the smiley face magnet affixed to her visor, given to her a couple of years ago by an elderly scorekeeper in Phoenix.

Ranked No. 1 in the world for 109 weeks, the 26-year-old Taiwanese player has slipped to 75th and is winless in 85 events since the 2012 Kia Classic.

This was Tseng’s second runner-up finish of the year. “You know, I was just super committed to seeing my shots, it was so much fun”. “I feel very comfortable and confident out there”.

“I can’t wait to come out tomorrow”, Tseng said. She was followed by Ernst at fifteen under and in second through the eleventh.

Austin Ernst was second after a 65, and playing partner Lexi Thompson, the 2011 victor at age 16, was third at 8-under after a 67.