304th-Ranked Sophia Popov Wins 2020 Women's British Open

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Despite entering the 2020 Women's British Open as the 304th-ranked player in the world with no LPGA Tour wins on her resume, Sophia Popov held off the field to win the prestigious major tournament at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, on Sunday. 

Popov, who entered the final round with a three-stroke lead, shot a three-under 68 on Sunday and finished at seven under for the tournament, two strokes ahead of Jasmine Suwannapura in second place.

Here is a rundown of the top finishers, courtesy of the AIG Women's Open's official website:

1. Sophia Popov: -7 (68)

2. Jasmine Suwannapura: -5 (67)

3. Minjee Lee: -3 (69)

4. Inbee Park: -1 (66)

5. Austin Ernst: E (70)

6. Momoko Ueda: +1 (67)

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

T7. In Gee Chun: +2 (69)

T7. Andrea Lee: +2 (69)

T7. Jennifer Song: +2 (70)

T7. Caroline Masson: +2 (72)

It is fair to say that Popov is one of the most unlikely major champions in the history of golf, especially since she hadn't enjoyed much success on the LPGA Tour prior to this week, as pointed out by Monday Q Info:

Adam Shadoff of Fox35 in Orlando, Florida, compared Popov's win to two of the most shocking major championship results in PGA Tour history:

No Laying Up provided a long list of reasons why few could have expected Popov to prevail at Royal Troon as well:

While Popov had a nice cushion entering the final round, a win was far from guaranteed since Jasmine Suwannapura and Minjee Lee were her closest competitors, and each had won multiple LPGA Tour tournaments in their careers.

Popov's fourth round got off to a shaky start with a bogey on the first, but she rebounded quickly with birdies on the second and third:

The U.S.-born golfer representing Germany added another birdie on the par-five sixth to extend her lead even more before making the turn:

After playing steady golf and carding eight consecutive pars, Popov came through with her fourth birdie of the day on No. 15 thanks largely to a remarkable approach shot from the deep rough:

Popov delivered another birdie on the 16th and entered the final two holes with a four-shot lead by virtue of her stellar play:

With Suwannapura and Lee too far back to truly make a run, Popov played steady golf over the final two holes to seal the victory.

She needed only a tap-in bogey to become a Women's British Open champion and win $675,000 in the process:

While Popov came through in the clutch and staved off those in pursuit of her, there was a time early in the final round when it seemed like Suwannapura or Lee might have a chance to chase her down.

From Nos. 4 through 7, Suwannapura carded four consecutive birdies, including this one on the par-five sixth:

Suwannapura damaged her chances significantly on the back nine, though, with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 13.

Lee also got off to a strong start with two birdies on the front nine:

She added another on the 16th, but Popov was already playing so well at that point that there was no chasing her down.

Although she never truly had a chance to contend, Inbee Park enjoyed one of the most impressive rounds of the tournament Sunday, as she shot a five-under 66, which featured seven birdies, including four in a row on the front nine:

The 32-year-old Park is one of the greatest female golfers of all time with seven major championships to her credit, and she showed that type of form Sunday by establishing herself as one of only four golfers to finish under par for the tournament.

For as good as Park was, the day belonged to Popov, as she went from a fairly anonymous golfer to an LPGA Tour star by winning the British Open.

Popov will forever be known as a major champion, but the big challenge now is proving it wasn't a fluke, and her first chance to show that in a major will be the ANA Inspiration beginning Sept. 10.