In her 157th start on the LPGA Tour, Paula Reto finally became a champion. The 32-year-old from South Africa, who now makes her home in southern Florida, knocked in a two-putt par on the 18th at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club to capture the 2022 CP Women’s Open.
Reto, a nine-year LPGA Tour veteran, finished at 19-under-par overall, one stroke ahead of Nelly Korda and Hye-Jin Choi and two strokes clear of Lydia Ko.
“I’m really, really excited and just proud of myself for being able to stick through the shots and the routines. Sometimes I find that’s really hard to do, especially if you know you have only a few holes left,” said Reto. “But I was really nervous, especially when I started pulling a few shots and I told myself, okay, just stay in the moment and breathe. You go through all those things that you think will help.”
With the win, Reto became the season’s second winner from South Africa, joining Ashleigh Buhai (AIG Women’s Open), and is the fourth LPGA Tour winner from South Africa overall, joining Sally Little (15 wins), Buhai (one win) and Lee-Anne Pace (one win). Reto is the eighth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2022 LPGA Tour season and the fourth consecutive first-time winner; the last time the LPGA Tour had four consecutive first-time winners was 2005.
Reto’s Canadian success started on Thursday, when she shot a personal-best nine-under 62 to set the course and tournament scoring record, as well as tie the low round of the LPGA Tour season. She stayed in contention all week and started the final day one stroke off the lead. Her morning was pure adrenaline, with Reto making the turn carrying a four-stroke lead on the strength of five front-nine birdies.
But on the back nine, she admitted that the nerves came out and the birdies stopped flowing. “I started putting on the brakes, and that’s probably not what you want to do,” Reto said. “I haven’t really much been in this position, and I was just trying to control myself and be in the moment.”
Reto bogeyed the par-four 14th to drop to 19-under, with former Rolex Rankings number one Korda surging in the group ahead of her. Korda holed out for eagle at 12 to start her rally and pulled within a stroke of Reto with back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16. She lipped out a prime chance for a tying birdie at 17 and after finding the greenside bunker on her approach to 18, Korda’s two-putt for par gave Reto the room she needed to take her first title.
Behind her, Buhai rounded out her week with a one-over-par 72 to finish on eight-under for the week in a share of 32nd.
