LEXI THOMPSON WINS INDIVIDUAL TITLE AT ARAMCO TEAM SERIES – NEW YORK

World number eight Lexi Thompson fired a final round of 69 (-3) to win the individual title at the Aramco Team Series – New York by three shots.

The Major winner began the day with a one-shot lead over compatriot Nelly Korda and started brightly with a birdie on the first.

Thompson then dropped a shot at the third but bounced back with a birdie on the next hole before making another bogey on the ninth.

However, back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 put the Solheim Cup star in control once again before birdies on 15 and 17, and even a bogey on the last couldn’t spoil the party as she clinched a three-shot victory.

“I've been working extremely hard on my game,” she said. “I felt like it was a matter of time, but I just wanted to play golf and put myself in contention in the final rounds and learn from the losses that I had and what I needed to work on, and I brought that into today.

“Today, I just the way I played yesterday with aggressive golf, and kind of fiery. I hit a great shot on number one to six or seven feet and made it. I wanted to play fearless golf and not play away from pins by any means and commit to my shots.

“I hit some really good ones and I hit some iffy ones but with this wind, you have to take the bad ones as best you can. I turned it on on the back and really made the putts when I needed to.”

Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Sweden’s Madelene Sagström finished in a tie for second place on eight-under-par at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point.

Henderson, who won her second Major at the 2022 Amundi Evian Championship in the summer, produced a final round of 68 (-4) with five birdies and one bogey on her scorecard.

“I feel like I was just trying to make some birdies and climb as much as I could,” said the Canadian star. “I was happy to shoot four-under out there, it was windy. I'm happy for Lexi. It will be a big win.

“Through the front nine, I was like, man, I really need to get going here and shooting four-under on the back was really nice and that long putt on 14 really kept the momentum rolling and I was able to back it up on the par-five on the next hole and made birdie there. I'm happy with the way I finished, overall, it was a good day.

“I feel like my game is in a good spot which is exciting leading into the rest of the LPGA season in a few weeks and hopefully I can finish strong because it's been a really fun year.”

While Sagström, who was part of the winning Team Europe at the 2021 Solheim Cup, carded a round of 69 (-3) with two bogeys and five birdies on the final day to be T2.

“We all come out here to try and win,” said the Swede. “That's what the mindset was coming in for the week. I haven't really been in this kind of situation for a while, so it's nice to be back.

“I felt really comfortable all day. I knew I had a shot there going into the back nine, but I couldn't really pull it off. It's always good when you put yourself in that situation. You can learn so much. To learn to win, you have to be there.”

Olympic champion Nelly Korda finished in fourth place on seven-under-par with a round of level par on the final day in New York.

Scotland’s Kylie Henry produced the joint-best round of the day with a 67 (-5) to finish in a share of fifth place alongside Sweden’s Maja Stark on six-under.

Four players rounded out the top 10 with Swedish duo Linnea Ström and Jessica Karlsson, England’s Annabel Dimmock and Dutch star Anne Van Dam all on four-under-par.

In the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol, Sweden’s Linn Grant continues to lead the standings with 3,394.91 points but compatriot Stark has closed the gap significantly and is now only 69.77 points behind.

The rest of the top ten stays the same with Sweden’s Johanna Gustavsson in third, Belgium’s Manon De Roey in fourth and Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher in fifth.

England’s Meghan MacLaren remains in sixth, Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino is seventh and South African Lee-Anne Pace is eighth with English duo Georgia Hall and Liz Young completing the top ten.

 Main Image: Lexi Thompson – Photo credit Mark Runnacles/LET.