Back on her game, Lindley finds weekend worthwhile

Second-round co-leader Michelle Estill fell from the top.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
VIENNA -- Leta Lindley flashed a picture of her 4-month-old baby boy that she keeps with her scorecard.
All she could do was flash a mother's smile.
Not only has Lindley been enjoying a new life with son Cole Michael, but she discovered some hidden facts about her golf game at the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic at Squaw Creek Country Club.
"It's just one of those things where you're hitting good shots and you're not capitalizing on it, and you figure one of these days I'm due to shoot a 66," Lindley said. "Here it was today on Sunday in Youngstown."
Strong effort
Competing in just her fourth event of the season, Lindley, 32, played some of the best golf of her 10-year career.
Lindley's 66 in the final round Sunday had her flirting with her first Tour victory. Instead, she settled for third place and $66,000 after shooting 9-under-par 207.
"I played solid golf and I was just really excited about the day. I wasn't anticipating that at all," said Lindley, of West Palm Beach, Fla.
"After all the time I took off after the birth of my son, I was really thrilled with my performance."
Lindley strung together a bogey-free round with six birdies that she credited to a hot putter. She briefly shared the lead at No. 12 with Moira Dunn, Young-A Yang and Laura Diaz.
"I didn't pay much attention," Lindley said of the leaderboard. "I just kept trying to make birdies. I'd make a birdie and my husband [and caddie Matt Plagmann] would say, 'You're still one, two back. You need to make more.' "
Estill's fall
Michelle Estill, the second-round co-leader with Yang, held the same outlook. She needed to make more birdies; unfortunately for her, she didn't.
"I just struggled the whole day," Estill said. "All of my birdie putts were outside of 20 feet. I just didn't hit it real close and didn't make a lot of putts. I thought some of the putts were going in, but I just didn't hit it good enough."
Estill shot a 1-under 71 in the final round and finished fifth at 7-under 209, winning $41,000.
"I feel really good about it. I still shot 1-under," she said. "I kept saying, 'Don't beat yourself up. It's not like you shot 77.' "
Estill, 41, whose only win came in her rookie season of 1991, felt as if her rhythm was disrupted when inclement weather delayed play for almost three hours.
"My back stiffened up," she said, "and when you sit for two and a half hours, your adrenaline doesn't quite pump as much. To me, I noticed that right off the bat. I felt good when we came in, but when we came out, I couldn't get it going."
Estill, an Arizona native, was just getting ready to tee off on No. 14 when the delay came. Afterward, she parred 14 but bogeyed 15.
"For this golf course, 15 through 18 are some of the hardest finishing holes that we play on Tour," Estill said. "To be standing out there after two and a half hours knowing that you've got four of the toughest holes coming in, that's also a factor."
Diaz's start
One shot off the lead to start the final round, Diaz, 29, began with consecutive birdies, but she also couldn't sharpen her game enough to catch Dunn.
"I shot 3-under on the front, but I wasn't able to make any birdies on the back side," said Diaz, who still shared the lead at 8-under for holes 10 through 12.
Trouble was, that's where Diaz finished -- 8-under 208 after a final-round 69, good enough for fourth place and $51,000.
"It came down to a 54-hole tournament, and I didn't make as many birdies as the other girls," said Diaz, a New York native. "You can't really say one hole or one shot [made a difference]. I gave it my all for three days, and that's all I can do."
richesson@vindy.com