Former Sun Devil wins first major

Former Sun Devil Anna Nordqvist took the LPGA Championship field by storm as she shot a 15-under 273 (66-70-69-68) to win the championship by four strokes. Only her fifth tournament, the win marks the rookies first career victory. The former Sun Devil collected a purse of $300,000. Nordqvist, who turned professional after fall semester, only had five bogeys the entire championship and tallied 20 birdies. While at ASU, Nordqvist was named the NGCA National Freshman of the Year in 2007. She earned All-American honors both her freshman and sophomore seasons and was named the Mid-Season Player of the Year this past season before turning professional. In other golfing news, Arizona State golfer Azahara Munoz defeated teammate and compatriot Carlota Ciganda to claim the 2009 Ladies British Open Amateur title. Munoz topped Ciganda 2 and 1 in the tournaments first all-Spanish final round at the Royal St. Davids Golf Club at Harlech North Wales. The Sun Devils have had quite a claim on the Ladies British Amateur in recent years. In 2008, former Sun Devil Anna Nordqvist won the title after being a finalist the two previous years. CIganda defeated Nordqvist 4 and 3 in 2007. In 2004 and 2005, former Sun Devil Louise Stahl was the Ladies British Amateur Champion. Two other Sun Devils also competed at the British Amateur. Giulia Molinaro narrowly missed qualifying for match play. Incoming freshman Alessia Knight qualified for match play before falling in the first round. Munoz, who graduated from ASU this past May with a 3.98 in psychology, will also compete at the U.S. Open this summer as an amateur.