Houston-area native Stacy Lewis ends 3-year skid, pledges earnings to hometown relief efforts

ByABC News
September 3, 2017, 9:11 PM

— -- PORTLAND, Ore. -- Stacy Lewis came through for her hurricane-ravaged hometown -- and ended a long winless streak.

The Houston-area player won the Cambia Portland Classic on Sunday, with her $195,000 in winnings going to the relief efforts. One Lewis sponsor, Marathon Oil, is pledging $1 million to the relief efforts, LPGA Tour officials told ESPN. KMPG, another of Lewis' sponsors, pledged to match her $195,000 donation.

The 32-year-old Lewis, from The Woodlands, won her 12th LPGA Tour title and first since June 2014, ending a frustrating stretch that included 12 runner-up finishes. She closed with a 3-under 69 to hold off In Gee Chun by a stroke at tree-lined Columbia Edgewater.

Lewis embraced and kissed husband Gerrod Chadwell, the University of Houston women's golf coach, on the 18th green. She didn't know he had made the trip to Oregon until he appeared on the green -- after hiding out in the Golf Channel tower during the round

Lewis parred the final 11 holes. She got up-and-down from off the green on the par-4 17th and reached the green on the par-4 18th from a fairway bunker to set up her winning two-putt.

Chun also parred the final two holes in a 66.

Lewis finished at 20-under 268. She opened with rounds of 70, 64 and 65 to take a three-stroke lead into the final round.

Lewis also broke through in Portland after finishing second twice -- two strokes behind Suzann Pettersen in 2013 and four shots behind Brooke Henderson last year.

On Sunday, she birdied four of the first seven holes, and she made the turn four strokes ahead of Chun.

Chun cut the lead to two with birdies at the par-5 10th and 12th. Chun missed a short birdie putt at the par-4 14th and pulled to within a stroke with a birdie at the par-3 16th.

Perhaps the biggest hole of the day for Lewis came at the difficult 17th when she hit her approach over the green and saved par after chipping 7 feet past the hole. Chun missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the hole.

Brittany Altomare (69) and Moriya Jutanugarn (72) tied for third at 14 under.

Ai Miyazato shot a 67 to tie for fifth at 13 under in the Japanese star's final U.S. start. The 2010 Portland winner plans to retire after The Evian Championship in two weeks in France.

Henderson, trying to win for the third straight year, had a 70 to tie for 15th at 10 under. The 19-year-old Canadian made a run on the front nine with three birdies and an eagle in a four-hole stretch, but she finished with a triple-bogey on 18.

Second-ranked Lexi Thompson was 9 under after her third 68 of the week.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.