PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida – Allie Knight didn’t know where she stood during Tuesday’s final round of the PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
That’s probably a good thing.
After starting the day with a four-shot lead, Knight was having, well, a nightmare round. The Knoxville, Tenn., resident was seven-over through 14 holes on the Wanamaker Course and had dropped several shots behind the leaders.
But she birdied the 15th hole with a 20-foot putt and parred the final three holes to rally for a two-shot victory at PGA Golf Club. She shot a 6-over 78 in difficult conditions to finish at 5-over 220.
“I’m excited to get a win out here. It’s a great feeling,” Knight said. “Definitely wasn’t the best day today. It was just tough conditions, all three days with the wind, so they just played so hard. But you know, to get a win. That’s awesome, that’s huge.”
Knight finished two shots ahead of Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth (70) – who is 5 ½ months pregnant – of Fleming Island, Fla., and Allie White (73) of Lancaster, Ohio. Connelly Eiswerth, who birdied the 16th to get to 4-under for the round, and White both bogeyed the final two holes.
“Bogeys on those last two holes are like pars for me, because they’re so tough,” said Connelly Eiswerth, the 2024 champion. “It’s definitely different playing pregnant. I wasn’t hitting the ball as far.”
White also played well Tuesday; she was 2-under on the front nine before playing the next three holes in 4-over. She also rallied with a birdie at the 13th and an eagle at the 16th before the two late bogeys.
“I didn’t look at a leaderboard all day,” White said. “I probably should have.”
Knight best survived the conditions, even when she didn’t have her best game. But she made the shots when it mattered.
“I hung in there and I was just trying to, just told myself, ‘Just do the best you can do, right?’” she said. “It’s probably one of my biggest wins in the PGA. I’ve gotten a lot of second places, so to finally get the first win is huge.”
Joanna Coe of Haverford, Pa., won a two-hole playoff over Ashley Grier of Port St. Lucie, Fla., to earn a spot in the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship June 25-28 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. They finished tied for fourth (the players ahead of them already were qualified).
In the Senior Division, Barb Moxness of Stuart, Fla., defended her title with a playoff win over Lisa Grimes and Christy Longfield. Moxness made a clutch par save on the first playoff hole from behind the green, barely getting her ball on the putting surface before it trickled 8 feet from the hole.
“That was the highlight of the day,” Moxness said. “It kept me in the playoff. With my age – I’m 72 – I’m grateful I still get to play this game.”
Grimes started the day with a four-shot lead that was cut in half when she received a two-stroke penalty for being late to the first tee.
“I thought my tee time was 8:50, but it was 8:40,” said Grimes, who won this title three consecutive times. “It was on me. I’ve only done that one other time in my career. Five three-putts didn’t help, either.”
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For more information about the 2026 PGA Winter Championships, visit the event website.