Hoffman fires final round 68 (-3), wins 95th Iowa Women’s Amateur by four

West Des Moines’ Paige Hoffman (pictured right) left little to chance in the final round of the 95th Iowa Women’s Amateur Championship. Hoffman, who entered the final round at Otter Creek Golf Course, fired a 68 (-3) to pull away from the field and win by four shots.

“It was just one of those days when everything works out,” Hoffman said. “Actually on the front nine I was hitting my irons really well and missed a couple birdie putts (I should of made). I didn’t get mad, I was one under on the front and was still happy.”

Hoffman, who admitted she made some putts when she really needed to, especially on the back nine to keep her momentum going, made a total of five birdies on the day.

“The (birdie) putt on #10 got me to -2,” Hoffman said. “I was starting to think I could win this, but then I remembered I needed to just take it one shot at a time. It wasn’t time to think about winning. You can’t get ahead of yourself, that’s where the big numbers come from.”

A trio of players tied for runner-up, including defending champion Sierra Hargens (Cedar Rapids), Joy Chou (Ames) and Amelia Mehmet-Grohn (Ames), who all shot +1 for the three-day event.

In the Open Division, Waterloo’s Kelly Nelson (right) posted a final round 78 to finish two strokes ahead of Janece Schwartzkopf, of Stuart.

Click here for a full recap of scoring