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UCLA alum Mo Martin Eagles Final Hole to
win Women's British Open...
Mo Martin reacts after making an eagle
putt that led to her winning the Women's British Open on
Sunday at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. (Paul
Ellis / AFP / Getty Images)
Mo Martin hit the best shot of her life,
and it made her a major champion Sunday
in the Women's British Open.
Martin, a 2005 graduate of UCLA who
played on the Bruins' 2004 national
championship team, hit a three-wood that
hit the pin on the par-five closing hole
at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England,
settling six feet away from the cup to
set up an eagle.
An hour later, that turned out to be the
winner when Inbee Park and Shanshan Feng
couldn't stay under par.
I think I still need to be pinched,
Martin said. Martin closed with an
even-par 72 on such a windy afternoon
that no one managed to break par in the
final round. The 31-year-old American
was the only player to finish under par
for 72 holes at one-under 287.
Park and Feng each had a chance to force
a playoff, but neither could birdie the
17th and 18th holes, both par-five
holes. Martin eventually finished with a
one-shot victory over Feng and Suzann
Pettersen.
Martin, who grew up in Altadena, CA began
playing golf at 5. She had never won on
the LPGA Tour, which she joined full
time in 2012. She had three victories on
the Futures Tour.
Martin went to Sierra Madre Alverno
High, which didn't have a girls' golf
team. She graduated from UCLA in 2005
with a degree in psychology.
But Martin, at 5-foot-2 one of the
shortest hitters on the women's tour,
made the biggest shot of her life for
her greatest win. An absolutely perfect
three-wood, she said. When it was in
the air, I said, `Sit. And then I said,
`Stop. And then when it was going
toward the hole, I said, `OK, I don't
have anything more to say to that ball.
I actually heard it hit the pin. It's
definitely one to remember.
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