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Stanford rides roller coaster to Evian victory

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Evian, France: American veteran Angela Stanford shot a final-round 68 to score a shock victory in the final major of the season, the Evian Championship.


Stanford thought she had lost her chance of victory when she failed to make birdie at the 18th but Amy Olson, who had led all day, then took a double-bogey six at the last.


Stanford finished on 12-under-par 272 and won the $577,000 first prize by a shot from Olson (74), Mo Martin (70), Kim Sei-young (72) and Austin Ernst (68).


The 40-year-old Stanford, 18 years a professional, had finally won a major.


“I really don’t know what has just happened,” said Stanford, unable to hold back the tears. “But I am so happy.”


“Sometimes things just catch you off guard. Just when you think you’re done then this happens. It’s pretty cool.”


Stanford had started the final round five shots behind Olson and still seemed an unlikely winner when she reached the turn in one under par. But she then birdied the tenth and the eagle from close range at the long 15th helped catapult the Texan into a share of top spot.


On a roller-coaster round, calamity struck at the short 16th where Stanford nearly went into water with her second shot and ended up with a pitch and putt double-bogey.


She hit back with a birdie from 25-feet at the 17th and then just missed her birdie attempt from 18 feet at the 18th. At that stage, she thought it was probably one too many.


But when Olson came to the last hole, she hit her tee shot into rough and then three-putted.


Olson, who was four ahead with four holes to play, tried to hide her disappointment.


“I was in the rough after two shots at the 18th,” the 26-year-old said.


“I hit a good shot but I was too aggressive with my first putt. But this is my best ever finish in a tournament. I have a lot of positives to take out of it.”


Stanford was the first American to win the Evian Championship since it became a major five years ago.


“I do feel sorry for Amy,” Stanford said. “I wasn’t rooting for her to miss the putt on 18. But she is young and her time will come.”


“You always think you’re good enough to win a major, but after 18 years on Tour doubts definitely begin to creep in,” said Stanford, who came close to winning the 2003 US Women’s Open but lost by one stroke to Hilary Lunke in a three-way 18-hole play-off.


“Even today, I never thought about winning until the 16th. And then we know what happened. But I am a grinder and a fighter and I never give up.”


Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, the US Women’s Open champion, collected the Annika Major Award for the season’s best results over the five major championships. — AFP


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