the associated press
the associated press
SAN MARTIN, Calif. — Just when it seemed as if the U.S. Women’s Open would come down to the final hole of the three-hole playoff, a rules violation changed everything and helped deliver Brittany Lang her first major title.
Lang was the beneficiary of a delayed, two-stroke penalty called on Anna Nordqvist on Sunday, as she won the title she was so close to seizing when she was runner-up 11 years ago as an amateur.
“You never want to win with a penalty or something like that happen, especially to Anna, who is a friend of mine and a great player and a classy girl,” Lang said. “But it’s unfortunate. It’s part of the game and it happened that way.”
Lang made par on all three holes of the aggregate playoff and Nordqvist was given a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand with her club in a fairway bunker on the second playoff hole, helping deliver Lang the title.
“Seemed kind of unreal that it happened, but it does,” Nordqvist said. “It wasn’t any reason to question it. But I’m certainly disappointed of the timing of it.”
Lang then sealed the win with a short par putt on the final playoff hole, while Nordqvist made bogey to lose by three shots.