Ally Ewing did her best Cameron Smith impression at the LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship.
No, Ewing is not the first female commit to LIV Golf, but she did make five birdies in a row on the back nine Sunday, like Smith did at this summer’s Open Championship.
And, like Smith, those five birdies were enough to catapult Ewing past the field as she won the Queen City Championship by one over Xiyu Lin at 22 under.
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Ewing slept on the 54-hole lead for just the second time in her career and looked to be treading water early in the day, playing the first 11 holes in just one-under and allowing Lin to tie her. But the birdie barrage on 12 though 16 was enough to pull out ahead and hang on for her third career LPGA win.
“It was just kind of early on just kind of hang in. I was dealing with some nerves.,” Ewing said. “[I’m] just really excited. Really happy and pleased with how I played. To get the win means a lot.”
Ewing parred the first eight holes of the day as she struggled to turn greens in regulation into birdie opportunities. But after getting a birdie on the card at the 9th, she settled in for a five-under 31 coming home.
“I was seeing lines really well all day, but my speed just wasn’t quite there the first few holes,” she said. “I finally saw putts go in, and then I hit it really well for those holes that I made five in a row.”
The 29-year-old can credit her putting over the last several holes to a change she made with her putting just a few weeks ago at the CP Women’s Open: shortening her back stroke.
“In Canada I was really close to putting some stuff together, but it was still kind of a little finicky,” Ewing said. “But this week, like you said, I saw putts go in and once I saw them go in, I had that confidence.”