| -14 S Young Kim (Kor); -11 A McDonald (US); – 9 S Meadow (NI); -8 L Ko (NZ), A Ernst (US); -7 J Korda (US), A Stanford (US), J Song (US), B Henderson (Can)Selected others:-3 M Reid (Eng); -2 J Ewart Shadoff (Eng); -1 S Popov (Ger), +7 L Maguire (Ire) |
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Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow matched her best previous finish in an LPGA event as she clinched third place at the Pelican Championship in Florida.
Meadow, 28, fired a closing one-under 69 to finish on nine under as she ended the tournament five shots behind winner Sei Young Kim of South Korea.
The Northern Irishwoman recovered from two immediate bogeys as she battled for second with US player Ally McDonald.
McDonald’s closing birdie meant she finished three behind Kim.
Meadow was tied at 10 under with McDonald standing on the 18th tee after she birdied the 17th, but the Northern Irishwoman dropped a shot at the last.
The Jordanstown native dropped shots at her opening two holes but recovered by picking up birdies at the sixth, seventh, 10th, 15th and penultimate hole.
The performance, which matched her previous best LPGA finish of third place at the 2014 US Open, moves Meadow up 24 spots to 35th in the LPGA’s season rankings.
England’s Mel Reid, who won her first LPGA event earlier in early October, finished in a share of 12th – 11 off the pace – with her compatriot Jodi Ewart Shadoff a further stroke back in 14th.
Germany’s Women’s Open Champion Sophia Popov, who led after an opening 64, finished tied for 15th on one under after a closing 70.
Ireland’s Leona Maguire finished in a share of 53rd place after a closing 74 left her on seven over and drops from 54th to 61st in the LPGA rankings.
