Jessica Porvasnik won the stroke play portion of the Inaugural PXG Match Play Championship at the King & Bear Golf Course at the World Golf Village Oct. 28.
The American was declared the winner after the final round was unable to be played due to severe weather that rolled through the area.
After 36 holes Porvasnik had posted a score of 8-under and held a one-shot lead over Sofia Garcia of Paraguay.
The two had separated themselves from the rest of the field after 36 holes, with Mun Chin Keh of New Zealand sitting four shots back in third place.
With the win, Porvasnik took home a $5,000 purse, while eight of the top nine golfers earned more than $1,000.
Philippine golfer Rianne Mikhaela Malixi did not earn any money despite finished among the top nine because of her amateur status.
The purse was raised following a last-minute addition of $10,000 by Access Electrical Contracting Founder and CEO Ken Hollingsworth.
According to Mark Berman with the championship, Hollingsworth had zero exposure to women’s golf but had played in many men’s pro-ams over the years as an avid recreational golfer.
After playing with two players in the pro-am earlier in the week and learning the stories of many others, he came into the player/VIP hospitality area Oct. 27 to learn more about the mission and to find out how he could help.
“I want to add $10,000 to the purse right now,” Hollingsworth said to Berman.
Hollingsworth’s addition will lead to a 20% increase in the overall purse and will be split evenly between the stroke play and the match play purses.
"This is what the mission is all about,” Berman said. “Making new fans of women’s golf and helping people understand the journey.”
Part of Porvasnik’s journey was being consistent throughout the two days of play, as she set herself up with a 4-under first round and was on fire with six birdies on the day in the second round.
However, Garcia matched her with a 4-under opening round and had just one less birdie on the second day, which proved to be the difference in the final outcome.
It will be interesting to see if these to are paired up at any point during the match play tournament Nov. 1-4.
Match play is a unique style of play and brings about a different strategic approach than the more common stroke play format.
