Ingrid Lindblad has won the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex in St Augustine, Florida. The Swedish player, who helped her team to third place in last year's European Girls' Team Championship, was playing in her first AJGA event.
After returning scores of 73 (+1) and 70 (-2) in the first two rounds, Lindblad was three shots of the pace heading into the final 18. She briefly held a one-shot lead with just two holes to play, helped by a chip-in eagle two on the Par 4 14th, but a bogey on the 17th meant the day would ultimately end in deadlock with Lindblad, Jensen Castle of the USA, and Kaiyuree Moodley of South Africa all tied on two-under-par.
In the playoff, Lindblad was the only player to find the Par 4 9th green in regulation. After her opponents failed to get up and down, a steady two-putt meant Lindblad would become the first Swedish-born player to win the event in the namesake of Swedish golfing legend, Annika Sorenstam.
“It was really cool to win this event,” Lindblad said. “I played in the (ANNIKA) event in Sweden three times and I think that’s a cool event, but I think this is even cooler.”
