Swedish lass Ingrid Lindblad wins maiden LPGA title at JM Eagle LA Championship; second rookie after Rio Takeda to achieve feat
SWEDEN'S Ingrid Lindblad bagged her maiden LPGA Tour title with a gutsy victory on Sunday at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro.
Making only her third start as an LPGA Tour member, Lindblad carded a closing four-under-par 68 at El Caballero Country Club for a 21-under-par 267 total. The 25-year-old finished one stroke ahead of fellow rookie Akie Iwai of Japan, who bogeyed her last hole for a final round 69.
American Lauren Coughlin, who co-led with Lindblad and Iwai after 54 holes, signed off with a 70 to share third place on 19-under-par with Germany's Esther Henseleit (64) and Japan's Miyu Yamashita (66).
Playing a group ahead of Iwai, Lindblad recorded six birdies against two birdies in the final round, parring her last seven holes.
She enjoyed a lucky break on the par-four 13th when her pulled drive struck a tree and bounced back onto the fairway.
Iwai nailed a long eagle putt at the par-five 16th hole to draw level on 21-under-par, but the 22-year-old overshot the green from the rough at the par-four 18th and failed to save par from 10 feet.
Lindblad became the second rookie to win on the 2025 LPGA Tour, following Rio Takeda who won the Blue Bay LPGA in China. The Swede is the third Rolex First-Time Winner this season, joining Takeda and American Yealimi Noh.
'I feel like I was just out there trying to take one hole at a time. I was telling myself, just keep hitting good golf shots. Felt like I could have made a couple more birdies on the back nine, but nothing really wanted to drop. Just staying in the moment and show no emotion, but sometimes it's hard to show no emotion,' said Lindblad, who shot a nine-under-par 63 on Friday to tie the tournament low round.
Lindblad is the second-consecutive Swedish winner on the LPGA Tour, following Madelene Sagstrom who won last week's T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards.
She joins Annika Sorenstam as a winner at El Caballero, where her legendary compatriot won the Office Depot Championship in 2003 and 2004.
'What she [Sorenstam] has done out on Tour was incredible. I didn't know until Monday or Tuesday that she had won here. Following in her footsteps is pretty big,' said Lindblad.
Lindblad had a highly-decorated amateur career with Louisiana State University and was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking from mid-2023 until she joined the paid ranks last June.
She competed on the Epson Tour over the second half of 2024, chalking up five top-10 finishes including her first professional victory at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic, finishing sixth on the Race for the Card rankings to earn LPGA Tour status for the 2025 season.
Defending champion Hannah Green of Australia, winner of the last two editions at Wilshire Country Club, closed with a 67 to tie for ninth on 16-under-par.
World number one Nelly Korda tied for 16th on 14-under-par as the American gears up for her title defence at the 2025 season's first Major, The Chevron Championship, which starts on Thursday at The Club at Carlton Woods in Woodlands, Texas.
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