Beaumont, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Katie Kempter parred the second playoff
hole on Sunday to defeat Lee Lopez and win the Volvik Championship.
Kempter birdied the final three holes in regulation for a 1-under 71, while
Lopez bogeyed the last for an even-par 72. They ended at 5-under-par 211 at
Tukwet Canyon Golf Club at Morongo.
The duo played the 18th hole twice in the playoff. Both players made par the
first time around. Kempter found sand off the tee the second time around, and
she missed the green with her approach.
Kempter got up and down for par. Lopez had a chance to extend the playoff, but
missed a 3-foot par putt. The win for Kempter was her first on the Symetra
Tour.
Kempter played the front nine in even-par as she birdied the second and
fourth, but dropped shots at six and seven. She bogeyed the 11th and 15th to
slide to minus-2. However, Kempter poured in three straight birdies from the
16th to end at 5-under.
Lopez made eagle on the fourth, but bogeyed the sixth and seventh. On the back
side, she birdied the 16th to move to minus-6, but stumbled to a bogey at the
18th to fall into the playoff.
Brittany Benvenuto struggled to a 4-over 76 on Sunday. She ended alone in
third at 1-under-par 215.
Second-round leader Maude-Aimee LeBlanc parred the first five holes and was
comfortably ahead at minus-8. However, she dropped 10 shots over the next
seven holes.
LeBlanc carded double-bogeys at the sixth, 11th and 12th to go with a bogey at
No. 8 and a triple-bogey at the par-4 10th. She came back to even-par for the
tournament with three birdies and a bogey over the final five holes. She
faltered to an 8-over 80, which dropped her into a tie for fourth at even-par
216. LeBlanc was joined there by Ginger Howard (69) and Brianna Do (74).
