Sherri Turner saved the best for last today when she rolled in a 25-foot putt for birdie on the last hole to win the Legends Tour’s Swing for the Cure by one shot.
The Phoenix resident carded a score of 3-under 70 at Inglewood Golf Club to edge out Christa Johnson of Tucson, Ariz., and Hall of Famer Patty Sheehan of Reno, Nev. Johnson and Sheehan tied for runner-up honors one shot back at 2-under 71 on the par-73 course.
“I was thinking, ‘Just get it rolling right down the hill to the hole’ because it looked like it was going to be a really fast putt,” said Turner, a native of South Carolina. “The last thing I wanted to do was hit it too far and have a four- or five-footer coming back.”
But Turner’s speedy putt was on the mark, giving the LPGA veteran the win and highlighting a round of solid putting.
Turner got off to a hot start in the 18-hole tournament presented by MulvannyG2. She nearly holed out a pitching wedge for eagle from 110 yards on the first hole, tapping in from one inch for a birdie to start her round.
The three-time LPGA Tour winner striped her irons all day, with only one putt for par outside of 10 feet for the round. She carded five birdies and two bogeys for her third win on The Legends Tour, the LPGA’s official senior tour.
“The way I started off on the first hole today really got me going and I just putted well all the way around,” said Turner, who pocketed $15,000 for her win. “These one-day events are challenging because it’s hard to come back if you make bogeys early on.”
Turner added that winning now on The Legends Tour is still an “important” goal in this stage of her professional career.
“We’re playing the same people we played on the LPGA Tour and we were all very competitive with each other,” she said. “So to know that I can come out here and win a tournament playing with the best players my age is still important to me.”
Sheehan, who won the LPGA Safeco Classic three times in the Greater Seattle area during her decorated LPGA career, also birdied the 18th hole. That birdie moved her into a tie for second with Johnson.
Legends Tour “rookie” Danielle Ammaccapane of Arizona and Cindy Miller of New York tied for fourth at one-under 72.
The event’s defending champion, Nancy Scranton of Florida, tied for sixth at even-par 73 with Allison Finney.
The Swing for the Cure featured a field of 30 LPGA Legends competing for a $150,000 purse. Ticket proceeds from the event support Susan G. Komen for the Cure Puget Sound.
For complete results go here.