Matilda Castren smacked her putt, and partner Kelly Tan watched anxiously as it rolled toward the cup.
The ball looked as if it was going in the whole way, but instead, it broke hard right at the hole and missed. Standing off to the side of the 18th green, Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol gave a hug to each other before Emma Talley and Maria Fassi rushed the green and sprayed them in champagne.
Knight and Szokol held on to their 54-hole lead, shooting 5-under 65 to hold on at 23 under and win the 2023 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club in Midland, Michigan. For Knight, it’s her second LPGA victory while Szokol picked up her first. It was their third start as partners in the tournament.
Knight and Szokol also became the second American duo to win the event, joining defending champions Jennifer Kupcho and Lizette Salas.
They each won $326,872.
Castren’s putt would’ve forced a playoff, but her and Tan settled for solo second at 22 under. There was a three-way tie for third at 20 under, including Celine Boutier/Yuka Saso, Jodi Ewart Shadoff/Talley and Celine Borge/Polly Mack.
There was a nearly two-hour rain delay with the leaders on the 13th hole, but Knight and Szokol made two birdies down the stretch to hold on.
Up next is the fourth women’s major championship of the year, the Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club in France. Brooke Henderson is the defending champion.