Cooper clinches third win at Heritage Classic- Tour Championship
(Wichita, KS) – The final round of the Heritage Classic Tour Championship at Rolling Hills Country Club came to an exciting close for Hailee Cooper (Montgomery, TX). After playing just four ANNIKA WAPT tournaments for the 2024 season, Cooper found a way to win three of them, including the tour championship. With trailing the leaders Mary Parsons (Canada), Aneka Seumanutafa (Emmitsburg, MD) and Worapitcha Anudit (Thailand) by two strokes heading into the final round, Cooper fired an impressive 9-under-par 63 to clinch the title.
The Texas native started the final 18 with a hot start as she birdied the first hole and then eagled the second. She then went on to birdie holes 4 through 6 before bogeying the 9th hole for a 5-under-par 31 to make the turn.
“I told myself to not worry about the scoreboard and I was just going to go out and have a good day and have fun. It’s easy to say that but I actually did it and the girls I played with were great. We just had a blast and we were laughing all day,” said Cooper. “It was easy going and it was nice because I wasn’t stressed about anything and they kept it really light.”
Cooper finished the back nine with a bogey-free 4-under-par 32, including a chip-in birdie on the 18th hole to capitalize her four shot win.
“I hit a bad drive off the tee and I chipped it up too short and I was just telling myself not to chunk it so I was really glad when it went in,” laughed Cooper. “After I chipped in I turned around and my caddie was crying so I teared up a little bit but it was fantastic. You can’t really have a better ending than that.”
Lauren Lehigh (Albuquerque, NM) took the second place finish with a 3-under-par 69 to sit at 13-under for the tournament. Despite the Heritage Classic only being Lehigh’s second event of the ANNIKA WAPT season, the University of New Mexico alum finished in the No.16 spot on the Callaway Race To Qualifying points list.
Top Five Callaway Race To Qualifying
With the Heritage Classic ending the 2024 season, the Callaway Race To Qualifying standings was also finalized, awarding the top five ANNIKA WAPT members with immediate advancement to LPGA Qualifying (formerly Stage II). Players in the 6th through 10th spot will receive a scholarship that pays their entry fees for Pre-Qualifying (formerly Stage I).
Here is a look at the top 10 Callaway Race To Qualifying
Alison Muirhead (Scotland) - 1,927 points
Hailee Cooper (Montgomery, TX) - 1,840 points
Nannette Hill (Jupiter, FL) - 1,660 points
Mary Parsons (Canada) - 1,352 points
Yeji Kwon (Canada) - 1,123 points
Victoria Gailey (Tigard, OR) - 1,033 points
Jean Reynolds (Newnan, GA) - 1,027 points
Angelina Ye (Shanghai, China) - 930 points
Anna Nordfors (Sweden) - 787 points
Josee Doyon (Canada) - 727 points
