Tanco holds on to win Annika Invitational

What looked like it may be a back-nine battle quickly turned into a one-girl show. Two-time Rolex Junior Player of the Year, Victoria Tanco notched a fourth Invitational title to her name with a win at Reunion Resort.

Tanco began the round sharing the lead with Laetitia Beck, and the girls kept it close making the turn tied at even-par for the day. Beck made bogey on Nos. 10, 11 and 12, leaving room for Tanco to take control and maintain a three-stroke lead for the remainder of the round. Tanco finished the tournament at 5-under-par 211.

Commenting on her final round, South Africa’s Bertine Strauss said that it was a tough day with challenging pin positions, and the wind also coming in to play. “I was hitting the ball well most of the time, but a lost ball on 10 led to a triple bogey which didn’t help my cause at all. The rest of my round was up and down with bogeys on 4, 5 ,8, 9, 12 and 17 and birdies on 6, 11 and 16. I ended up with a 78, 11 over for the tournament in tied 18th position.”

Connie Chen said that she started the day in someone’s divot (again) after her second shot and caught a flier over the green where her ball disappeared and she went on to make a double bogey. “After that I steadied but a bad chip and miss judged putt saw me make another double bogey on the fifth. My first birdie came on the ninth from the fairway bunker with a perfect six-iron ending six feet from the hole. I then turned three over.

“On the back nine I bogeyed 12, 13 ( 3 putt),17, but made a good birdie on the par three 15th with a well controlled six-iron. I ended the day five over and the tournament nine over, placing me in a tied for 13th. I hit the ball very well today but just did not have as enough commitment to the shots as I did the previous couple of days.”

Annika continued her involvement as a hands-on tournament host and personally thanked each player as they walked off No. 18 green, hugging Tanco as she walked to the scoring tent. During the awards ceremony, Tanco recognized Annika as her role model and expressed how much winning the Invitational meant to her.

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