CAMBRIDGE, Ontario -- Suzann Pettersen birdied two of the last three holes to win the Manulife LPGA Classic on Sunday for her 15th LPGA Tour victory and first since October 2013.
Pettersen closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions for a one-stroke victory over Brittany Lang at Whistle Bear Golf Club, the first-year venue after three seasons at Grey Silo in Waterloo.
Bothered by a shoulder injury this season, Pettersen regained the form that carried her to four victories in 2013. She joked that she might have done it a week too soon, with the major KPMG Women's PGA Championship next week outside New York City at Westchester Country Club.
"I hope I didn't peak one week early," Pettersen said. "But this is just a start. This is what I've been working for. I'm starting to feel that the process is kind of coming together. This is a start of a big summer."
Pettersen blasted out of a greenside bunker to 2 feet on the par-5 16th to set up a birdie that tied Lang for the lead, then hit a 5-iron to 8 feet for another birdie on the 191-yard, par-3 17th. The 34-year-old Norwegian parred the par-4 18th, hitting her long first putt to a foot.
After playing bogey-free the first three rounds, Petersen dropped strokes Sunday on Nos. 2 and 5. She rallied with birdies on Nos. 8-9, eagled the par-5 12th, and made a bogey on the par-4 13th.
"I felt I played some really good golf this week," Pettersen said. "I was pretty flawless through three rounds and broke that effort pretty quickly with a couple of bogeys, but I managed to get my head together and play some good golf. I played aggressive and it was a good day on the golf course."
Pettersen finished at 22-under 266. She ended a 35-event victory drought and is projected to jump from 10th to fifth in the world ranking.
Pettersen won for the first time since starting working with swing instructor Butch Harmon.
"I went to see Butch, and I have only good things to say about Butch," Pettersen said. "He's been a great inspiration to me to take my game to a new level. He definitely has the belief. He's no sugar-coater. He gives me what I need every single time.
"What we've done so far is good and this is hopefully just a start. But it's nice to kind of see the results. When you do changes, I can feel the difference in what's happening and what's going on."
Lang, the winner of the inaugural tournament in 2012 at Grey Silo, finished with a 65. She birdied Nos. 15-17 and closed with a par.
"I'm going to take nothing but positives away from this week," Lang said. "It was fantastic golf with three majors coming up. But the competition out here, it's unbelievable. It's really hard to win nowadays and it's great, it's great for women's golf. The girls are just, there's so much talent, so much depth."
Colombia's Mariajo Uribe was third at 18 under after a 72.
Cristie Kerr bogeyed the final four holes for a 73 to drop into a tie for fourth at 16 under.
Top-ranked Lydia Ko tied for 27th at 10 under after a 71.
