English ace reveals seeing negative tweet on eve of final round in New Jersey spurred her on: "It was probably the best thing I could have read"
Sunday 4 October 2020 22:57, UK
Mel Reid survived a test of nerve and composure as she landed her maiden LPGA Tour title with a two-shot victory at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Reid carded her seventh birdie of a final-round 67 that left her two clear of Augusta National Women's Amateur champion Jennifer Kupcho, breaking the tournament record with a winning score of 19 under par.
Carrying the lead into the final round for the second week running, Reid got off to an ideal start with birdies on two of the first three holes, but she gave one back at the sixth and missed a very short putt for par at the next to raise fears of another near-miss in the US.
But Reid regrouped immediately and holed from 15 feet for birdie at the eighth which triggered a run of four in five holes, hoisting the 33-year-old back into the outright lead heading down the stretch.
The English ace, six times a winner on the Ladies European Tour, got into trouble at the 15th when her tee-shot leaked too far right and into an awkward lie in the rough, but she chipped to 20 feet and rattled in the putt for par to stay at 19 under.
Her four-shot lead was whittled down to two when her wedge to the 17th spun back off the green and she fluffed a pitch which led to a bogey, resulting in a two-shot swing after Kupcho had birdied the par-three.
But Reid's nerve held when it mattered most and, despite just missing the fairway at the par-five 18th, she hammered a clutch six-iron from the rough and her ball bounded onto the putting surface and left her with a routine two-putt from 20 feet for the winning birdie.
"It changes your life, honestly," said an emotional Reid as she reflected on her breakthrough triumph. "These are the best players in the world. The LPGA is in my opinion the best Tour, and the Tour you want to be on if you want to be the best in the world. To win out here, people look at you a bit differently.
"So it's tough to win out here. I can tell that you. Just to get it done is a huge relief and I'm ecstatic and now looking forward to the KPMG next week."
Reid also revealed how a negative tweet about her chances of holding on for victory gave her extra motivation to get over the line in New Jersey, and she plans to have her revenge on social media.
"I read a tweet yesterday, and it was probably one of the only bad tweets that I got, saying 'she'll choke'. It gave me a little bit of motivation," Reid added. "I'm going to reply to him tonight with this picture of me and the trophy and a big 'Shh' face.
"It did give me a bit of motivation. I was like, 'I'm going to prove it'. I know it sounds stupid, but it was probably the best thing I could have read. I'm definitely not letting that happen, someone was going to have to beat me today. I'm not going to give it away.
"I had in my head 20 under, and I think I got to 19, so luckily it was enough to get done."
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