Spain's Beatriz Recari doesn't fold on back nine, wins CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge for first tour
Beatriz Recari's first LPGA Tour victory proved to be a far more cool and conventional experience than her first professional win on the European Ladies Tour last year.
In the 2009 Finnair Masters, a rattled Recari blew a five-shot final-round lead, then pulled out the tournament in spectacular fashion, holing a 4-iron shot from 176 yards out in a playoff.
The 23-year-old Spaniard, an LPGA rookie, maintained she learned a lot from that Finland roller coaster ride about how to handle final-round pressure. She proved that Sunday by shooting a calm and focused 2-under 70 to capture the CVS/pharmacy LPGA Challenge by a stroke over Frenchwoman Gwladys Nocera.
Recari, who entered the day tied with veteran Michele Redman and South Korean surprise contender Illee Lee at 12 under, broke free of a clustered pack on Blackhawk Country Club's back nine and had a three-stroke lead entering her final two holes.
She then encountered a mild bit of drama when she bogeyed the par-4 17th while Nocera birdied the 18th. Sitting in the middle of the fairway after a perfect drive on 18, Recari knew she had to clear the water hazard guarding the green and two-putt to win the tournament. With the same calm she displayed throughout the round, her approach landed on the front fringe, some 25 feet away. She lagged her birdie attempt to within 2 feet and easily sank the tournament winner.
"I'm very proud of how I handled myself my whole round," said Recari, who finished at 14-under 274. "I did not allow the nerves or anything else keep me from what I had to do."
Lee fell back quickly Sunday, but Redman, Nocera, Wendy Ward and Karine Icher all kept pace until Recari birdied the 13th and 14th for the lead she never lost.
Nocera wound up second with her final birdie, while Icher and Redman tied for third at 12 under. Another shot back were Cristie Kerr and Ward.
Recari's best prior finish on the LPGA Tour was a ninth in the Sybase Match Play in May, and she was 10th in the Jamie Farr Corning Classic, but she also had missed 10 cuts in 14 tournaments coming into the Danville event. She admitted she wasn't anticipating a victory in her rookie year.
"Being a rookie, I didn't really know what to expect," she said. "I was just going from tournament to tournament, and it was very hard at the beginning. My expectations this year just to keep my card, play the majors and finish in the top 80."
Recari's $165,000 first-place check vaulted her to 37th on the LPGA money list after she came into the tournament having won just $51,591. Now, suddenly, she may be the most famous female to ever play golf in her native Spain.
Recari took up the game at age 11, tagging along with her father in what she said was her first real experience playing sports. She liked it so much she told her dad she wanted to take it up seriously. She played in a Spanish junior championship after a month -- "I shot in the 100s," she said -- but she rapidly improved.
Along the way, she also learned about Spain's rich golf heritage on the male side with Seve Ballesteros, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia. Garcia's father actually helped sponsor her second year on the European tour. And she came to idolize Ballesteros.
"At the beginning, I didn't know anything," she said. "I could only hear fantastic things about Seve. But he was an inspiration for everyone. He's a legend in Spain. It's very sad what's happening to him right now (Ballesteros is suffering from brain cancer) and I hope that he comes back to where he was health-wise."
Note: Los Altos' Juli Inkster posted her second straight 71 to finish tied for 40th at 1-under 287.
