ALABAMA — Pauline del Rosario tumbled with a 73 in the final round even as American Cydney Clayton ran away with the Guardian Championship trophy Sunday at the Capitol Hill Golf Club in Prattville.
Del Rosario, who was T11 just before the last 18 holes, bogeyed Nos. 1, 10 and 16 and not even her birdies at the 13th and 18th could carry her any better than tied for 35th.
She totaled a six-under 210 for $1,370. Her compatriot Clariss Guce shared 46th place with four-under 216 for $1,016.
Clanton fired a 69 to stamp her class with a 17-under 199 finish for the $30,000 winner’s purse.
Thai rookie Keera Foocharoen reeled with a 75 in the final round for 56th place. She turned heads in the first round after a 67 but limped with a 73 the following day.
Clanton, the Auburn University alumna, fired a 4-under 68 to take home her third career victory on the Epson Tour.
Clanton is a
long-time member of the LPGA Tour but was pushed back to dual status after her 2022 season. Her confidence returned on the tour she has been playing for so long after a T11 finish on the LPGA Tour last week.
“I had a great week last week on the LPGA Tour, and that just kind of sent the confidence in the right direction,” Clanton said.
“I was just able to just come and execute this week, getting off to a really hot start, shooting a 9-under rounds, which is my career low. After that, I just kind of kept it going throughout the week and am just happy with how I played all week.”
Down the stretch is where Clanton showed the sign of a true champion, making four birdies in her last six holes. Wang applied the pressure down the stretch but could not make enough birdies to keep up with the 34-year-old.
Miranda Wang was the player who had the best chance to catch Clanton coming down the stretch.
Wang also made four birdies in her last six holes, but a double bogey on her front nine and two more bogeys early on her front nine kept the rookie slightly off the pace of the veteran.
The solo second-place finish for Wang was good enough to move her into the No. 11 spot in the Race for the Card with just three tournaments left to play.
Michelle Zhang is another rookie who put on a show at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail on Sunday afternoon.
Zhang would make six more birdies throughout the round to finish with a 6-under round of 66 and collect her best finish of the year.
Zhang’s tie for third moved the 18-year-old up 12 spots in the Race for the Card to No. 46 and only 11 spots away from playing herself in the LPGA Q-Series for 2023.
