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Hawaii’s Stephanie Kono won her first LPGA tournament on Saturday, carding a final-round 3-under 68 for a one-stroke victory at the Symetra Tour’s Donald Ross Classic at the French Lick Resort in Indiana.
Kono, a Punahou alumna, finished at 11-under 202, holding off Dottie Ardina of the Philippines and Karen Chung of New Jersey. Ardina closed with a 65, the low round of the day, and Chung a 67 to tie at 203.
It’s amazing and I still can’t believe I did that,” Kono said at the press conference. “Such a great feeling and I’m so grateful. I was out for a while last year and just had some bad times. I’ve had such a good group of people around me that kept me believing. This is unreal, but I’m so thankful.”
The UCLA graduate earned $33,750 and moved her up 79 spots in the rankings to No. 6. She had five birdies in the round, including at No. 9 to drop to 10 under at the turn. Birdies at Nos. 15 and 17 had her 12 under, but she bogeyed the final hole.
Since turning pro in 2012, Kono has battled a string of back injuries that have sidelined her for months on end.
“It hasn’t really been easy for me since then, and to be honest, I kind of doubted if this would ever happen,” Kono said. “I didn’t want that to be the end of my career and I didn’t want that to hold me back from doing what I knew I could. This is just so rewarding for me because six months ago I was sitting down and not able to move. That was the third time that happened. I can’t believe I did this six months later.
“I was pretty nervous before I started the round, but once I started I was actually pretty strangely calm. I started the day believing I could do it and I kept that belief the entire round.”