LSU's Lindblad wins SEC title with an eagle on the final hole
Is there anything
Ingrid Lindblad can't do?
The LSU junior won the SEC individual championship on Friday in dramatic fashion, rolling in a 38-foot eagle putt on the par 5 finishing hole at the Greystone Country Club (Legacy Course) in Birmingham, Ala. to win the title by one shot over a stunned
Megan Schofill of Auburn.
Lindblad, who started the day in third place three back of Schofill, fired a final round 66 to finish at 10-under 206 for the 54-hole event, claiming her ninth collegiate individual title, which is an ongoing LSU record.
Lindblad found herself one stroke behind Schofill entering the final hole, a 478-yard par 5. Her drive left her 220 yards to the green and Lindblad made the decision to go for it all after finishing second a year ago. With the wind in her face, Lindblad faded a 5-wood into the right corner of the green, leaving her a tricky eagle putt of some 38 feet.
2022 SEC Champion Ingrid Lindblad The putt found the bottom of the cup and after Schofill missed her lengthy birdie putt, Lindblad had earned the ninth individual title of her career, becoming LSU’s first individual SEC championship in 31 years.
“Coach was there and we shot the pin and we had (218 yards) in,” said Lindblad. “The win was gusting a little bit in, but we were thinking there is nothing to lose. I had three shots down to third place I think. There’s nothing to lose. I hit my five wood. I thought I hit it too far right. I kind of expected it to go in the water, but it carried up on the green and made a 40-footer for eagle. There is nothing to lose just go for it.”
Lindblad has won four-of-five spring events and five tournaments in total in the 2021-22 calendar year. She now has added to her school record of nine collegiate event triumphs and solidified her spot at the top of the board in SEC stroke average this season. She is presently ranked No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and is No. 3 in the Golfstat rankings.
Behind Lindblad's final round 66, LSU edged South Carolina by a stroke to earn the No. 2 seed in the match play portion of the event behind Auburn, which earned the No. 1 seed by firing three consecutive rounds of even-par 288.
The eight-team quarterfinal match play round will begin Friday afternoon and any matches not completed would be finished at first chance on Saturday morning. The semifinals as of now are still scheduled for Saturday afternoon and the championship match on Sunday morning.
SEC Women's Golf Championships
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 Tennessee
No. 2 LSU vs. No. 7 Vanderbilt
No. 3 South Carolina vs. No. 6 Alabama
No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Florida
LSU Athletic Communications contributed to this report
ABOUT THE
SEC Women's Championship
54-hole stroke play tournament crowns an individual
champion, then four teams advance to match play
to
determine the SEC team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information