Pro Golf Now
Fansided

Trish Johnson handily wins inaugural Senior LPGA Championship

By Elizabeth Bethel

FRENCH LICK, IN - JULY 12: Trish Johnson of England hits her first shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the Senior LPGA Championship at the French Lick Resort on July 12, 2017 in French Lick, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
FRENCH LICK, IN - JULY 12: Trish Johnson of England hits her first shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the Senior LPGA Championship at the French Lick Resort on July 12, 2017 in French Lick, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

With a smooth combination of skill and experience Trish Johnson notched her first major championship title at the Senior LPGA Championship.

Trish Johnson brought deep experience to French Lick and the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship – 25 worldwide victories on the Ladies European Tour, the LPGA, and the Legends Tour, 8 Solheim Cup appearances as well as two in the World Cup (2007, 2008), two at the Handa Cup (2013, 2014, 2015) and the inaugural Queen’s Cup (2016).

But a major championship victory was missing from Johnson’s resume. She remedied that situation Wednesday afternoon, despite a weak approach on the par-5 18th hole at Pete Dye’s French Lick that left her with a challenging uphill/side-hill lie to the putting surface. And did I mention there was a pot bunker in the mix?

Johnson’s talent and her experience were apparent in that moment. She wasted no time checking out the lie, selecting a club, setting up and executing a near-perfect lob shot to the green that left her with two putts to win. If there was a practice swing it happened so quickly that I missed it! There was absolutely no sign of the nervous energy she later confessed to Karen Stupples had propelled her play for the two final rounds.

More from Pro Golf Now

With rounds of 67, 72, and 73 Johnson handily won the 54-hole Senior LPGA Championship by three strokes when she parred and her closest challenger, Michele Redman, wasn’t able to convert a long eagle putt from off the green at the last.

Dame Laura Davies (Johnson’s captain for the 2016 Queen’s Cup), Helen Alfredson, and Wendy Doolan shared third place, all finishing at one-over par.

Follow this link to the Championship final leaderboard.

Johnson told Golf Channel’s Karen Stupples that she knew after the first round that the tournament was “mine to lose.” This was Johnson’s first major championship title!

Stupples had just confided to Judy Rankin (as much as one commentator can confide to another when they’re both on the air) that she’ll be age-eligible to compete in the 2018 and that she felt her competitive juices flowing again as she watched the field warm up for the third round Wednesday morning. I’ll be looking forward to Stupples’ debut.

Next: U.S. Women's Open power rankings

Women’s golf fans turn their attention now to the U.S. Women’s Open. Play begins Thursday, July 13 at 6:45 am ET at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ.  USGA will provide streaming covering beginning at 10am and Fox Sports 1 begins broadcast coverage of the first round at 2pm ET.

Home/Golf News