Feb. 22, 2015 - Sixteen-year-old Hannah O'Sullivan is now the youngest-ever winner in the history of the Symetra Tour.

O'Sullivan won the Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club on Sunday, the season-opener for the LPGA developmental tour that was long known as the Futures Tour.

Oddly, the major-league tour, the LPGA, has long had younger winners than the junior tour, the Symetra. Lydia Ko is the youngest-ever LPGA winner at age 15, while the Symetra had, prior to O'Sullivan's victory, only three champions younger than 17.

And the previous Symetra Tour recordholder for youngest winner was none other than Cristie Kerr:

Youngest Symetra Tour Winners

• Hannah O'Sullivan - Age 16 when she won the 2015 Gateway Classic
• Cristie Kerr - Age 17 years, five months, two days when she won a tournament in 1995
• Jenny Shin - Age 17 years, nine months, 18 days when she won in 2010
• Vicky Hurst - Age 17 years, 10 months, eight days when she won in 2008

Now, you might notice the three 17-year-olds all went on to become good LPGA players - in Kerr's case, a great LPGA player. That doesn't mean that O'Sullivan will do the same, of course, but it's certainly an indication of special talent.

O'Sullivan got into the tournament on a sponsor exemption. She lives in Paradise Valley, Ariz., and the tournament was played in Mesa, Ariz.

She qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women's Open at age 14, and played on the U.S. Junior Ryder Cup team in 2014. She also was a semifinalist at the 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, finished third in the 2014 Junior PGA Championship and is a two-time AJGA All-America selection.

O'Sullivan opened a 4-shot lead after two rounds with a second-round 65. That was on the heels of a 67 in Round 1. Any worry that she wouldn't be able to handle the pressure of leading a professional tournament as a 16-year-old amateur quickly dissipated in the final round when she opened with a birdie and added another on the third role. For a while in the final round O'Sullivan held a 7-stroke lead.

She finished at 15-under 201, winning by four strokes over runner-up Haley Italia. And O'Sullivan didn't just become the youngest-ever Symetra Tour champion; she also is the tour's first amateur winner since Kellee Booth in 1999.