From Michigan PGA
LPGA Epson Tour player Jessica Welch shot a closing 2-under-par 70 on the Mountain Ridge Course Wednesday and for the second consecutive year was a wire-to-wire winner in the 32nd Michigan PGA Women’s Open Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
Her 9-under 211 total was four shots better than runner-up Ana Murcia, a Michigan State University golfer from Colombia, who shot 71 for 211 and was the low amateur in the championship.
The 31-year-old Welch, who earned $8,000 for the win, is only the second golfer to win consecutive Michigan Women’s Opens, and the first to do it in 24 years
In trophy ceremony speech Welch thanked Crystal Mountain, her fellow competitors and her local host housing family, Steve and Pam Perry.
“I’m not sure everyone realizes how lonely it can get out here on the road playing golf, and how many pits you can find yourself in,” she said. “So, to have a place like this to come back to, and to get to see Pam and Steve every year, you just kind of get to breathe easier for a week. And I can’t tell you how special that is, and how special of a place Crystal Mountain is, and I hope we get to come back for a lot more years.”
