American Bailey Tardy captured her first LPGA Tour victory on Sunday, winning the Blue Bay LPGA by a record six strokes at 19-under-par 269 in Hainan Island, China.
Tardy, in her second year on tour, tied for the low round of the day with a 7-under 65 at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course. But her round started unremarkably with pars on the first seven holes before she sank a 51-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth hole.
A birdie on the par-4 ninth hole followed for 33 on the front nine, then Tardy rebounded from her lone bogey at the par-4 No. 10 with a birdie run at Nos. 11, 12 and 13. More birdies were carded at Nos. 15 and 17 as she pulled away from the field for a four-stroke victory.
Sarah Schmelzel (69) finished in second place at 15-under.
“I got off to a little slow start on the front nine, and then just really stayed patient out there,” said Tardy, 27, a former University of Georgia player. “I can’t say that I woke up today knowing I was going to shoot 65 or knowing I needed to go that low to win. I just knew it was going to be a tough day. I thought that everybody was going to play really well. The leaderboard was stacked and the conditions were windy, so just really proud of myself and how I handled myself.”
Tardy started the final round sharing the lead with Lydia Ko of New Zealand and American Schmelzel.
Ko, a 20-time winner, tied for fourth at 13 under after a 71. A win would have given her the 27th and final point she needed to qualify for the LPGA’s Hall of Fame.
Schmelzel, who also broke Minjee Lee’s tournament record set in 2016, registered her best result on the LPGA Tour, bettering her third-place finish at the 2022 LPGA Drive on Championship.
Like Tardy, Schmelzel was playing in the Blue Bay LPGA for the first time. She started fast on Sunday with three birdies, then made three bogeys over the next six holes, bookended around a birdie. The back nine was better with birdies at Nos. 14 and 18 for a round of 69 — her fourth consecutive round in the 60s.
Japan’s Ayaka Furue, who also carded a 65 on Sunday, was alone in third place at 14-under par.
Ruixin Liu (70 on Sunday) finished in seventh place at 12-under 276 — the lowest score for a player from China — in her 2024 season debut.
“It’s been amazing week for me,” she said. “You know, the crowd is amazing, super supportive, and every putt I sink they went crazy. So I totally enjoyed it. I’m a little exhausted after coming back from three months break. You know, it gives me a lot of confidence moving forward since I’m not full status. We’re going to see how reshuffle going to take me after this week.”
Defending champion Gaby Lopez tied for 12th at 8-under 280 after a 69 in the final round.
–Field Level Media
