FORT MYERS, Fla., April 17, 2016 – High winds continued into today’s final round of the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial, but by day’s end, Canadian Lorie Kane had the steadiest hand and captured The Legends Tour portion of the event.
Starting the final round tied with six others at even-par 72, Kane built a three-stroke lead, squandered it, and then regained the lead on the back nine holes at Cypress Lake Country Club as winds between 20-25 mph buffeted the course, with gusts reaching 30 mph.
Kane finished at one-under 71 for a 36-hole total of one-under 143, easing past co-runners-up Barb Mucha (74) and Jane Crafter (74), who tied for second at 2-over 146.
“I knew with the wind, it was going to be tough, and putting was very difficult,” said Kane, who was the only Legends Tour player under par for the tournament. “I chose not to look at any leaderboards. I wanted to just hit solid shots and give myself as many chances as I could.”
Through six holes, Kane, Helen Alfredsson and Christa Johnson shared the lead, but as the wind played havoc with shots and putts, the event turned into a battle of attrition. Kane carded a bogey on No. 14, answered with a birdie on No. 16, bogeyed 17, but clinched the tournament by three shots with a par on the final hole.
“I was thinking about the wins I’ve had in the past and tried to stay within myself,” said Kane. “You can only control what you do.”
Michelle McGann was the only other player to break par in today’s final round. The Floridian posted a 3-under 69 to climb into a tie for fourth with Kris Tschetter (75) at 3-over 147.
Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom closed out her win in the Epson Tour portion of the event, in which members of The Legends Tour and Epson Tours played their respective events simultaneously.
Sagstrom finished at 9-under 279, carding a final round of 3-over 75 to edge runner-up Sophia Popov (73) of Germany by one shot at 8-under 280.
“There are a lot of young, talented players here who can learn from the Legends,” said Kane, who was paired with fellow Canadian Sara-Maude Juneau in Saturday’s round. “I appreciated being mentored and now I like to share and give back.”
For complete Epson Tour scores, visit http://www.epsontour.com/leaderboard.
For complete Legends Tour scores, visit http://leaderboard.thelegendstour.com/?TID=64 or visit www.thelegendstour.com.
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