Fort Worth golfer Piller can’t hold lead, Shin wins LPGA event in Irving

Fort Worth golfer Gerina Piller watched from a distance as the celebratory beer shower went to a different first-time winner Sunday at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout.

Piller, the 54-hole leader by two strokes, backtracked with a closing 73 in the final round at Las Colinas Country Club to open the door for a final-round surge by Jenny Shin, who posted a bogey-free 67 in windy conditions to reach 14-under par and win by two strokes.

Shin, who joined the LPGA Tour in 2011, won for the first time to deny Piller, a 2010 rookie, her first career victory in a season marked by near-misses. Piller, who tied for second with Amy Yang and Mi Jung Hur at 12-under, has finished sixth or better in her last four LPGA starts, with top-10 finishes in five of the last six.

But she struggled gauging the Sunday wind gusts while trying to protect a 54-hole lead for the first time in her professional career. Piller responded with five bogeys and three bogeys in front of a supportive gallery that included her husband, Martin Piller, a PGA Tour competitor.

“It definitely wasn’t a cakewalk out there. The wind was tough to figure out and the pins were really, really tough. It was hard to get it close,” Piller said. “I’m taking nothing but good things away from this place. That was my first time ever holding the lead, especially for two rounds. It would be pretty awesome to win at home. But I don’t feel like this was my last and only chance. I’m still playing great golf.”

Shin, whose closing 67 matched the lowest final round of any competitor, simply played better. She made four birdies in her first 10 holes to climb into contention and followed with eight consecutive pars to claim the $195,000 winner’s check. Shin, doused in beer by peers after the victory, did not have a bogey in either of her weekend rounds while posting rounds of 65-67.

“I’ve been in contention so many times, I think I’ve learned how to figure it out,” Shin said, reflecting on multiple occasions where she had squandered 54-hole leads in past seasons. “After five and a half years of people asking me, ‘When is your first win going to be?,’ I’ve learned to deal with the stress mentally. This is nice. It’s a really good feeling.”

Piller’s 54-hole lead disappeared during a birdie/bogey exchange with Yang, her Sunday playing partner, at the first hole. But she remained in the lead, or one stroke back, until taking four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch in the middle of the round (Nos. 8, 9, 12 and 15). Piller’s tie for second marked her top finish of the 2016 season.

Aledo amateur shines in LPGA debut

Cheyenne Knight, an amateur golfer from Aledo, exceeded her own expectations in her LPGA Tour debut. Knight, who plays college golf at Alabama, closed with a 72 to finish 1-under par for the tournament and in a tie for 29th place. Breaking par over four rounds while competing against the pros, she said, was “very, very cool” before racing to the airport to catch a flight to Birmingham that would put her in position to take a final exam Monday morning in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“It was a great, unbelievable week,” Knight said. “I exceeded my own expectations for myself, making both cuts. It was an unbelievable experience and this is what I want to do after college.”

In terms of lessons learned, Knight said: “I’ve still got some things to work on. Playing with the pros showed me where I need to improve. But I’m infused with confidence in my own abilities. I’ve got to build on it.”

Stanford not satisfied

Fort Worth golfer Angela Stanford, a former TCU standout, closed with a 70 in Sunday’s gusting winds to finish at 4-under par for the tournament and in a tie for 16th place. Stanford finished sixth in last year’s event and thought her game was peaking heading into Thursday’s opening round.

“I’m not satisfied,” Stanford said. “I thought I’d play better. Still, some good things happened. But it’s a tough course because you get some weird bounces and you have to be patient. The wind was tough out there.”

Stanford, with help from 16 fellow LPGA Tour players, will host her annual charity tournament Monday at Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth. Proceeds from the event benefit children whose lives have been impacted by cancer.

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Fort Worth golfer Piller can’t hold lead, Shin wins LPGA event in Irving."