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Shin tops Pressel to win Evian Masters

Jiyai Shin overtook Morgan Pressel in the final round of the Evian Masters to win the Evian Masters in France.  Shin, who started two shots behind Pressel at the start of the round, shot 67 on Sunday.

Shin tied Pressel at 13-under par with a birdie on the 13th hole, as Pressel narrowly missed her birdie along the same line just before.  Both players made par over the next four holes to remain tied heading to the 18th hole.  With a playoff looming, Shin and Pressel walked to the 18th green with birdie putts.  Shin made hers and Pressel’s rolled over the hole but did not drop.

Pressel finished tied for second place with Na Yeon Choi and 15-year-old Alexis Thompson, who was playing on a sponsors exemption after turning professional in June.

Suzann Pettersen finished in fifth place at 12-under par, two shots behind Shin.  Mika Miyazato and Song-Hee Kim tied for sixth place, with Jeong Jang a shot behind them at eight-under par.  Yukari Baba and Yuri Fudoh round out the top 10 tied for ninth place at eight-under par.

Defending champion, and Rolex Ranking top player, Ai Miyazato finished tied for 19th place with Cristie Kerr and Michelle Wie tying for 31st.  Paula Creamer, who won the U. S. Women’s Open a couple of weeks ago, finished tied for 37th at one-under par.

Pettersson wins Canadian Open

Carl Pettersson completed a remarkable comeback at the Canadian Open this week on the PGA TOUR to win his first event in two years.  Pettersson, who made the cut on the line, followed up a third round 60 with a final round 67 that put him a shot better than Dean Wilson, who shot 72 after three rounds of 65.

Petterssen made bogeys on the fourth and seventh holes before turning things around.  He made birdies on the eighth and ninth holes and added another on the 11th before carding three straight birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes.  Wilson traded bogey for birdie on the eighth and ninth holes but lost his lead with bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes.  Pettersson made a bogey on the final hole but Wilson could not convert birdie on any of the final four holes.

With Wilson taking sole possession of second place, Luke Donald moved into third with a final round 66 to get to 12-under par, two shots behind Pettersson.  Tim Clark and Bob Estes fell into a tie for fourth place after shooting 71 in the final round.  They finished at 10-under par with Matt Kuchar, Jeff Quinney, Charlie Wi, Charley Hoffman, Greg Chalmers, Michael Letzig and Bryce Molder.

Clark, Wilson tied at Canadian Open

Tim Clark and Dean Wilson are tied for the lead at the Canadian Open.  Both are 10-under par and lead by one shot heading into the weekend at the St. George’s Golf & Country Club in Toronto.

Clark followed an opening round 66 with a bogey-free 64 to tie Wilson, who shot a second straight round of 65.  Clark started with birdies on the third and fifth holes.  He birdied three of four holes at the turn – on the ninth, 10th and 11th holes, before finishing with a final birdie on the 17th hole.  Wilson birdied the first hole but made his only bogey on the fourth.  He went on to card five birdies on the sixth, 10th, 13th, 15th and 17th holes.

Brent Delahoussaye and Steve Wheatcroft are tied for third place at nine-under par.  Hunter Mahan, J. J. Henry, Rob Grube and Brock Mackenzie are tied for fifth place.  Tim Herron’s 63 moved him up 66 spots into a tie for ninth place at seven-under par with Bob Estes, Matt Jones, Nathan Green and Vance Veazey.

Mika Miyazato leads Evian Masters

Mika Miyazato, the younger sister of top ranked Ai Miyazato, leads the Evian Masters heading into the weekend in France.  Mika is at nine-under par through two rounds of play, a shot better than Gwladys Nocera.

Mika only made one bogey in the second round while carding six birdies for a 67.  She is looking to follow her sisters, who is the defending champion, and make this her first LPGA victory.  But, with players like Morgan Pressel, Na Yeon Choi and Suzann Pettersen lurking, Mika has a long 36 holes to go for that first win.

Jeong Jang is in third place at seven-under par with Pressel, Choi, Meena Lee and M. J. Hur a shot behind in fourth place.  Pettersen is at five-under par, tied with Jiyai Shin, Sun-Ju Ahn, Kyeong Bae and Mi-Jeong Jeon for eighth place.

Pettersen is currently ranked third in the Rolex Rankings and Shin is fourth.  Both could top Ai Miyazato in the rankings with a win this week.  Ai is tied for 16th place at three-under par, six shots behind her sister, as is Yani Tseng and 15-year-old Alexis Thompson, who turned professional in June and finished 10th at this year’s U. S. Women’s Open.