© LPGA Tour

It has been a long wait for Melissa Reid. She is now champion of the LPGA circuit and for the first time at the head of the Rolex ranking. Six-time winner on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and three-time member of the European Solheim Cup Team, the Englishwoman won her first US Tour title at the ShopRite LPGA Classic at the Bay Course of Seaview, A Dolce Hotel. posting a last 67 (-4) to -19 total, with two strokes ahead of the Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Jennifer Song, respectively second (-17) and third (-16).

“I'm just over the moon, so moved. So happy for me and my team, it means so much more than just me hitting a golf ball ”, said Melissa Reid. “I read a tweet yesterday and it was probably one of the only bad tweets I got saying I was going to choke on it. It gave me some motivation. I know it sounds silly, but it's probably the best thing I could have read. I was definitely not going to let that happen. "

“The older you get in this game, the more scars you create. But being 33 and lifting that trophy when I had a few young players behind me shows that I love adversity. I will always be a fighter and I will try to make my way through the stages each time. I am so happy and relieved that I did. "

After her first birdies on holes 1 and 3, Melissa Reid then bogeyed on 6 and 7. She then closed the first nine holes with a pair of birdies to bounce back and make the turn 2 under par, -17 in total, with a one-shot lead over Jennifer Song.

Melissa Reid then made more birdies on holes 11 and 12 to give her a four-stroke lead, with Song and Jennifer Kupcho (at that time) tied for second at -15. After missing her approach on the 15th par 3, she faced a crucial 4,57-yard putt for the par to maintain her lead in Atlantic County.

“It was a huge moment for us and probably the first time I showed emotion in the whole tournament because I knew how important a putt was. By pulling it over here, that's when I knew if I didn't do anything stupid, it was won. "

Kupcho's second place ties up a career record, which she set at the 2019 Evian Championship. She recorded seven birdies in the final, as well as two bogeys and a double bogey and finished 3 under par (68 ).

"I didn't touch the ball very well, and I couldn't really hope to play as well as Mel, but I did my best with what I brought to the course today"said Kupcho, who finished at -17 overall. “Looking back on this whole week, and how much I've fought through all the adversity I've encountered, I'm really proud of myself and can't wait to enter major week. "

"Mel played so solid today and it was really fun to watch"said Song, who also broke his personal best 72 holes on the LPGA Tour with his 16 under par (268) performance at the ShopRite LPGA Classic. “I had no idea where I ranked at the leaderboard; I was just playing one shot at a time. I missed a lot of birdies so I'm a little disappointed, but overall I'm very happy because I think I'm improving every week. "

Nasa Hataoka and Nelly Korda finished at -14 and -12 respectively, completing the top five. Four players finished tied for sixth at -11, including Brooke Henderson, a nine-time US Tour winner and winner of the 2016 KPMG Women's Championship.

CME Group Cares Challeng - score 1 for St. Jude

The CME Group Cares Challenge is a charitable giving program that turns aces into donations. CME Group donated $ 20.000 for every hole-in-one made during the 2019 LPGA season, with a guaranteed minimum donation of $ 500 to St. Jude Children's Hospital, which leads the way in research on how to treat and beat cancer and childhood illnesses.

Brittany Altomare completed the eighth hole-in-one of the 2020 LPGA Tour season on Thursday. The eight aces for the 2020 season means a total of $ 160 has been donated to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital this year.

The 2019 LPGA Tour season saw 32 aces in total from 31 different contenders for a total of $ 620. This covers more than the average cost of $ 000 needed to treat a pediatric cancer patient.

US Women's Open Qualifiers Update

There were two spots available this week on the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer to qualify for the 2020 US Women's Open December 10-13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, TX. The next two players - Melissa Reid and Jennifer Song - in the top 10 had not yet qualified for the last major of the season, it is now done, they have their participation in the last Major of the season this week on the Bay Course at Seaview, Dolce Hotel, Galloway, NJ

The top two players - not otherwise exempt - who finished in the top 10 and tied for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, Cambria Portland Classic and ShopRite Classic, as well as the top three players in the top 10 and tied for KPMG Women's PGA Championship, not otherwise exempt, secure a berth in the field of the US Women's Open.

Those who have qualified so far against these criteria in 2020 are Jenny Shin and Katherine Kirk, tied for fifth and seventh place at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, respectively; Ashleigh Buhai and Yealimi Noh are tied for third place,, at Cambia Portland Classic. Reid and Song are now joining this group for the 2020 US Women's Open.

To consult the leaderboard, click here.

To read our last article on the same subject :

ShopRite LPGA Classic: Lexi Thompson in defense, Nordqvist looking for a 3rd title