Stacy Lewis wins Ladies Scottish Open, calls for faster play after lethargic final group
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Stacy Lewis wins Ladies Scottish Open, calls for faster play after lethargic final group

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Stacy Lewis won the 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open on Sunday in Scotland, prevailing in a four-person playoff to pick up her first LPGA title in three years -- and first since becoming a mom.

Lewis spent the final 36 holes of regulation paired with Azahara Munoz and Jennifer Song, with Munoz getting to the extra session along with Cheyenne Knight and Emily Pedersen. She knew she would be in for a long day on Sunday after spending Saturday with Song and Munoz, and she vowed to not complain.

"I told [her caddie] on the second tee, I said, 'I'm not allowed to complain once about the pace of play,'" Lewis said after the win. "So I didn't allow myself -- I didn't allow it to affect me. I was singing songs in my head, just getting away from everything, just trying to pass the time."

She hung on in tough conditions, shooting 1-over 72 on Sunday to get int he playoff on 5-under 279. On the first playoff hole, she made a 25-footer to clinch the win.

The final round, played in a threesome, took 5 hours, 16 minutes. Compared to normal three-balls on major tours, that's not an outrageous time, but it's not a good time either. But Lewis is a quick player, and after two days of dealing with what felt like crawling, she had to say something.

"It shouldn't take that long to play," she said. "I knew it was going to; that's the sad part you is know it's going to take that long. I do think an effort needs to be made across the board to play faster, because obviously I wasn't watching it on TV, but I'm sure it couldn't have been fun to watch on TV. There's just so much the announcers, that they can talk about to fill time."

How would Lewis like to see pace-of-play policies enforced? Lewis said the penalties need to be more frequent and mean something to the outcome of the tournament.

"I would like to see it be penalties instead of fines. I think it needs to be aggressive," she said. "I think it needs to change because we're going in the wrong direction."

 

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