Only two straight birdies on the 18th hole by Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland on Sunday evening kept former University of Northern Colorado golfer Carleigh Silvers from earning her first victory on the Symetra Tour.
Silvers who played for UNC from 2009-13, rallied from a six-stroke deficit on Sunday to force a sudden-death playoff in the IOA Championship in Beaumont, Calif.
But Meadow — a four-time All-American at Alabama, where she won nine times — birdied the final hole in regulation, then drained a 40-foot birdie on the same hole in the playoff to foil Silvers’ title hopes. The former UNC golfer gave her long birdie putt a good run in the playoff, but it slipped just to the right of the cup.
Earlier, Silvers (pictured in a Symetra photo) birdied the 16th and 17th holes to take the outright lead in regulation, but bogeyed No. 18, leading to the playoff. Meanwhile, Meadow, a former LPGA Tour player, birdied four of her last seven holes — including the playoff — en route to claiming the $15,000 first-place pay check.
“I was pretty nervous. I have never been in a playoff before,” Silvers said on symetratour.com. “It was fun to be in that position. Obviously, I’m super bummed that I didn’t finish it off, especially now that I know I was coming into 18 with a one-shot lead.”
Silvers, a 2014 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier who advanced to the final stage of LPGA Q-school last fall, closed with a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday, posting a 4-under 212 total for 54 holes.
The runner-up showing was the best of Silvers’ Symetra Tour career.
For the scores from the IOA Championship, CLICK HERE.
