Ally Ewing - © LPGA

Ewing won the difficult par 4 of the 14th hole with a birdie for a 2-up lead and knocked out her German rival with a double-bogey on the par-3 of 17 in the final tournament before the US Women Open la next week at the Olympic in San Francisco.

"I have the impression of having limped during the game", Ewing said. “I was really tired. Needless to say, Monday through Wednesday before a major championship, I'm going to have to find a way to prepare and rest. "

The 28-year-old former Mississippi state player won her first LPGA title in October at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Fla., Playing under her maiden name, McDonald. On Sunday, she won her first wedding anniversary with Charlie Ewing, the Bulldogs' female golf coach.

"The second coolest thing that happened to us on May 30th"Charlie Ewing said. “I had a lot of confidence in her, so I felt like I was holding on better than if I had played. I had a lot of fun watching it. I am really proud of her. "

Ewing won the second and fourth par 4 holes and held onto the 2-up lead until Popov birdied the par-5 of 11.

"I'm a little sad not to have been able to give the best of myself this afternoon, and I know that fatigue has something to do with it", Popov said. “I just hit too many bad shots on the first leg and yet I was there. I knew if I had had a game close to the last four days I think I could have won this game, but I think we can both say it was not our best performance. "

Popov won the British Women Open last year.

"My game is in really good shape heading into the US Open - if I can give my feet a little break tomorrow", Popov said. “I am just excited. I love big dates. "

In the semifinals, Ewing beat Ariya Jutanugarn, 3-2, and Popov beat Shanshan Feng, 1 up. Feng conceded the third-place game to Jutanugarn due to the heat and fatigue, days away from the US Women's Open.

"If I play 18 more holes, I don't know how I'm going to do it", Feng said. “I could fall on the course. I don't think I should push myself to this point. If I was in the top two, of course, yes I would play until I hit the course. But I lost the game in the morning, and I think it's better to rest after that. Next week is the US Open. It's a very hilly and difficult course, so I just want to be well rested and protect myself. "

The Chinese star played 41 holes on Saturday.

On Saturday, Ewing beat home favorite Danielle Kang, 1 up, in the quarterfinals after outscoring Jenny Coleman in 19 holes in the morning in the round of XNUMX.

"We slept a lot tonight and we are going to pull ourselves together", Ewing said. “We're going to soak up this week and be ready to play on Thursday. "

Céline Boutier eliminated at the gates of the 8th final despite her victory

Despite her victory over Gaby Lopez in the first match, and over the American Jennifer chang, Celine Boutier, "Defeated the day before by the world n ° 2 Inbee Park“, Had won his match 3 & 1 on the third day of the group stage of the Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play. Unfortunately the French n ° 1 was eliminated by the victory of the South Korean Inbee Park in the other meeting of group 2.

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Bank of Hope LPGA Match-Play: Céline Boutier is an ideal start