Minea Blomqvist earns 62,000 euros and access to the women's golf majors

3rd place in Arizona effectively ensures LPGA card for next season

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Finnish woman golfer Minea Blomqvist capped an excellent weekend on Sunday with a 5-under round of 67 that pulled her up from a share of 8th place to take 3rd in the Safeway International Tournament at the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club in Arizona.
      Blomqvist finished on 274, 14-under for the tournament, with rounds of 70+68+69+67, and she collected a cheque for USD 98,000, or just over EUR 62,000.
     
The money will be welcome, but just as in the case of her male counterpart Mikko Ilonen when he won on the European Tour last year, it is the access that her success brings that is all the more important: finishing so high on the leaderboard in Arizona guarantees her an entry at this coming weekend's first women's major of the season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship in California, and it also opens the door to the British Open in July.
      Furthermore, in practice the 23-year-old Blomqvist has now guaranteed exemption from having to qualify for a card for the North American LPGA tour next season.
      A 5th place finish in Hawaii in February and now this result lifted the Finnish player into 11th place on the LPGA money-lists, with earnings so far this year of just over USD 150,000.
     
Blomqvist, who is the first Finnish player to ply her trade on the American Tour, enjoyed a great four days of golf in Arizona.
      In particular her putting was rock-solid. In her final round, which included a bogey and six birdies, she putted just 25 times, and her total for the whole tournament was 110 putts.
     
Things could hardly have gone any better.
      She went into the fourth round in joint 8th place, and was paired over the last 18 holes with the world's former No.1 Annika Sörenstam of Sweden.
      Blomqvist was quite unfazed by the exalted company, and when they shook hands at the end, the Finnish rookie was three strokes to the good.
      In fact she is not quite a rookie on the LPGA Tour, having made her move from Europe just over two years ago, but previous seasons have proved tough going on the world's most competitive women's golf circuit.
     
The tournament was won by the defending champion Lorena Ochoa of Mexico, who is without doubt the hottest player in the women's game at present.
      Ochoa destroyed the field to win with a score of 276, 22 under par.
      Second spot went to Korea's Jee Young Lee (-15), who made a birdie at the last hole to move out of a tie for second place with Minea Blomqvist.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Minea Blomqvist rewrites golf history at British Open (2.8.2004)
  Minea Blomqvist in and out of form on LPGA Tour (17.4.2007)

Links:
  LPGA: Minea Blomqvist

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