The first time she played the 18th hole Sunday at the LPGA Oldsmobile Classic, Michelle McGann made a 25-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. The fourth time she played the hole, she made an 18-foot birdie putt to win the tournament.
"I made the putt and that's how it ended up," McGann said after beating Lisolette Neumann on the third playoff hole. "It comes down to a putting contest. Sooner or later someone is going to win, so it's a matter of hanging in there."McGann and Neumann each shot a 7-under-par 65 Sunday to finish 72 holes at 16-under 272, one stroke ahead of Meg Mallon who tied a tournament record with a closing 63.
Third-round leader Tracy Hanson finished two strokes off the pace with a final-round 70, while Donna Andrews finished three strokes back after a closing 66.
After going 16 under with a birdie on the 17th hole, Neumann thought she may have won the tournament. But she watched McGann make her long birdie putt as she approached her second shot on the final hole.
She watched again as McGann made the winning put on the same green.
"It's kind of fun to make that putt and win," said McGann, who earned $90,000. "I have been hitting the ball well all year and not making any putts. This is such a crazy game, anything can happen. One week you are not scoring and the next week you make some putts and you're in contention."
McGann and Neumann played Walnut Hills' 364-yard, par-4 18th three times in the playoff after LPGA officials decided the course was too wet to use the originally designated playoff alignment of No. 18 followed by holes 16-18.
"It was way too muddy to get players and spectators back to 16," LPGA official Jim Haley said. "It was the condition of the golf course, but we felt this was fair for both. One advantage was that the spectators got to see the entire playoff."
The $600,000 tournament was delayed by rain during Thursday's and Friday's first and second rounds and light rain fell throughout the morning Sunday.
"I hit four good drives under pressure on 18," McGann said. "Playoffs are playoffs. I made the putt and that's how it ended up. I was ready, it didn't matter where."