A hole-out from the fairway for eagle on No. 16 highlighted Emma Talley’s final round in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational on Saturday.
That helped the Caldwell County grad and her teammate, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, finish in a three-way tie for third in the LPGA Tour event in Midland, Michigan.
The pair was in a tie for second place after two rounds, but found themselves tied for fifth late in Saturday’s final round.
Talley’s long shot from the fairway on 16 got the team within one shot of the leaders momentarily, but the duo wound up finishing three shots back.
And Talley’s hole-out led to an impromptu dance in the fairway by the Princeton native.
“It was 174 yards. I hit a 5-iron. It was perfect as soon as I hit it, and it had a little draw on it and hit and followed in, and it was great,” Talley noted. “Yeah, I danced for a long time. I think I made a bit of a fool out of myself, but Jodi played so good today.
“I was struggling a bit, so I finally felt like I contributed to the day a little bit. It was a good feeling. I wish I could have gotten that last one. It was a good day overall.”
Hot John's Girl with the CELEBRATION SHOT 🎉@talley_emma holes out and dances it out on hole 16! 🕺 pic.twitter.com/TgR70JY4gW
— LPGA (@LPGA) July 22, 2023
Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol shot 23-under to win the tournament. That was one shot ahead of Matilda Castren and Kelly Tan, who finished as runner-up for the second straight year.
Talley and Ewart Shadoff finished at 20-under — the same score as Celine Boutier and Yuka Saso, and Celine Borge and Polly Mack.
The team shot 63 in best-ball play on Saturday after carding a 60 in that format on Thursday.
Talley and Ewart Shadoff had a 67 during alternate shot on Wednesday and an even-par 70 in that format on Friday.
“Yeah, we had a lot of fun,” said Talley. “This was our third year. I’m hoping she’ll play again next year. It’s always a fun week.
“I feel like we balance each other out really well, and she played great all week. Yeah, it was a great time, and hopefully you’ll see us next year.”
The third-place tie led to a nice payday for the pair. Talley and Ewart Shadoff each pocketed $77,400 for their showing.
Talley had a birdie putt lip out on No. 18 that would have lifted the team into solo third place. That would have netted each player $103,160.
It was Talley’s first Top 10 finish of the season on the LPGA Tour and nearly doubled her winnings this season, which now stand at $157,501.
Talley’s high finish in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational comes with another huge benefit.
It earns her a berth in the The Amundi Evian Championship next week at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France — one of five majors on the LPGA Tour.
