The 25-year-old from Perth was in a group at 17-under – which included South Korea’s Narin An (64), German Esther Henseleit (66), Ayaka Furue (68) of Japan and American Lilia Vu (68).
The quintet finished two strokes behind first-time Tour winner Andrea Lee of the United States and one adrift of Ecuador’s Daniela Darquea.
In a year of having to bounce back, Lee recovered from two early bogeys and pulled away with five birdies on the back nine on Sunday to close with a round of six-under.
Lee took the lead for good with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and then hit a superb bunker shot from the left of the 17th green to save par and keep a two-shot lead.
She was in the middle of the 18th fairway when she watched Darquea finish with a third straight birdie to pull within one shot. Lee drilled her approach to 15 feet and lagged her putt to within inches to tap-in for the win.
RIGHT: Andrea Lee claimed her first LPGA Tour win after starting her year on the secondary Epson Tour. PHOTO: Steve Dykes/Getty Images.
It was quite a turnaround for Lee, a former No.1 amateur whose game got off track to the point her LPGA status suffered and she started the year on the developmental Epson Tour.
And then she climbed her way out of it, winning on the Epson Tour, taking advantage of sponsor exemptions with solid play and finally cashing in at Columbia Edgewater Country Club for her first win.
Her face was awash in a mixture of champagne and tears, especially when she paid tribute to her grandfather, who died late last year.
“He always believed I was a champion, and today I am one,” Lee said.
Lee started in a three-way tie with Vu, another former No.1 amateur, and Furue. Lee immediately fell off the pace with bogeys on the second and third holes.
“I told myself to stay patient because I still had a lot of golf left,” Lee said.
“I managed to get three birdies back, and then I kept going.”
She finished at 19-under and moved to No. 18 in the Race to CME Globe standings.
“Everyone was like, you seem so much happier. Yeah, because I’m going home. Yeah, I’m super excited.” – Hannah Green.
Darquea’s runner-up finish moved her to No.59, a big week because the top-60 advance to the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November. Darquea had been ranked No.108 going into Portland.
Green, who went from 19th to 16th, was the best of the Aussie finishers with Sarah Kemp (70) at five-under and Karis Davison (71) three-under.
“I’m proud of myself to shoot a low one on the back nine. I guess even the par on the last to keep myself in it,” Green said.
“Not going to lie, I saw the leaderboard and I really didn’t want to finish tied seventh, so I guess that gave me some extra motivation. I guess it really shows when you’re enjoying yourself and the golf course, what it can do.”
The real threat to Lee came from Henseleit, who took the lead with an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th. She had a six-foot birdie try on the next hole that caught the lip but didn’t drop, and she traded birdies with Lee along the back nine.
Henseleit was one shot behind when she came up short of the 17th green, pitched about 12 feet long and missed her par putt to fall two back.
Lee becomes the ninth first-time winner on the LPGA Tour this year.
“It’s more than anything I could have imagined,” she said.
“I can’t believe it, actually. I can’t believe I’m standing here after what I went through last year.”
After her seventh top-10 of the season, Green will now head home to Perth for a short break before finishing out her LPGA season then heading home for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
“Everyone was like, you seem so much happier. Yeah, because I’m going home. Yeah, I’m super excited,” the Aussie said.
“I’ll be home for I think only ten days. I’m coming back for MEDIHEAL in California and also in Korea, so not too long. I’ll be back soon.”
© Golf Australia. All rights reserved.