Brittany Lincicome became the Prudential Rock Solid Performer of the week after winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

Lincicome wins Kraft Nabisco Championship with 72nd hole eagle
Outlasts McPherson and Kerr to take home first major championship

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif., April 5, 2009 – Brittany Lincicome hit a hybrid to four feet on the 72nd hole of regulation and calmly rolled in her debut eagle of 2009 to claim her first-ever major title at the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Sunday. Lincicome’s final-round, 3-under-par 69 was enough to top best friend Kristy McPherson (68-70-70-72=280, -8) and 11-time LPGA Tour winner Cristie Kerr (71-68-70-71=280, -8) by one stroke. The 23-year-old’s four-day total of 9-under-par 279 (66-74-70-69) granted her, her father Tom, and caddie Tara Bateman, access to Poppy’s Pond in a leap reserved for the Kraft Nabisco champion.

“I can't even describe it. It's surreal,” said Lincicome, after accepting the $300,000 winner’s check. “Huge shot on 18 and I'm standing over (it), the hybrid is in my hands; my hands are shaking and my heart is racing. I'm trying to calm myself down by breathing or singing or whatever I can possibly do, and right when I hit it, it came off on the clubface exactly where we wanted to hit it and took the slope like I wanted it to and came really close, thank God.”

Lincicome trailed McPherson by two entering the final round, but put herself in good position following back-to-back birdies on holes nine and 10. She dropped a shot when her approach shot plugged in the bunker on 12 and did not take the final-round lead for good until sinking the four-foot eagle putt on hole 18. Kerr, who made double bogey on the 15th hole after hitting her drive out of bounds, also made birdie on the final hole, but it wasn’t enough to stop a surging Lincicome, who credits an offseason swing change for her first major title and third LPGA Tour win. The victory propels Lincicome into the top-10 on the 2009 LPGA Official Money List. The Florida native is the second-youngest Kraft Nabisco Championship winner behind Morgan Pressel in 2007, at the age of 23 years, 6 months, 17 days.

Career milestones. With her victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, Brittany Lincicome crossed the $2 million mark in career earnings. The 23-year-old is now 78th on the LPGA Official Career Earnings list with more than $2.2 million in winnings ($2,277,251).

Lincicome earns trip to Samsung World Championship. With her victory at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, Brittany Lincicome also booked her ticket to the 2009 Samsung World Championship, slated for Sept. 17 to 20 at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Calif. Celebrating its 29th year on Tour, the Samsung World Championship is a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament featuring an elite 20-player field that includes the winners of the season’s four LPGA majors – the Kraft Nabisco Championship, McDonald’s LPGA Championship Presented by Coca-Cola, the U.S. Women’s Open, and the RICOH Women’s British Open. The field also includes the previous year’s Vare Trophy winner, the LPGA Tour’s current money list leader and the Samsung World Championship defending champion. A berth in the field is also awarded to the leading player from the Ladies European Tour (LET), other leading money winners from the LPGA Tour’s current year, as well as one sponsor invitation.

Prudential Rock Solid Performer - 2009 Kraft Nabisco Championship

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