The golfing world was hoping for a fairytale on the final day of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. But, as Brendan James reports, golf fans were treated to compelling golf from two queens of the sport and their heir apparent.
The history books will show South Korea’s Jiyai Shin, a two-time major winner, claimed the title by two shots from a charging World No.1 Yani Tseng through smart play and a touch of genius along the way.
Jiyai Shin runs to hug her caddie after tapping in for the victory. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
Starting the final round tied for the lead with 15-year-old amateur Lydia Ko, Shin probably felt she was always going to be the villain in a fairytale that every one wanted to see played out – the story of a little girl from New Zealand beating some of the world’s best players … for the second week in a row.
Lydia Ko shares a joke with winner Jiyai Shin after the event. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
Just as Tom Watson’s bid for an Open Championship at Turnberry in 2009 captured the imaginations of golf fans across the globe, so did the prospect of Ko winning her second LPGA title and her fourth professional tournament in just 12 months.
Ko maintained her mantra of taking “taking it one round at a time.” Shin, on the other hand, had to laughingly fend off suggestions she was the villain in this fairytale because she was older and people wanted to see the young player win. “I’m young too,” she laughed. “I’m young … she’s just a baby. I’m just young girl.”
When Ko opened her final day campaign with a double bogey against Shin’s birdie four, not even Hans Christian Anderson could have possibly conjured up a “and they lived happily ever after” result for Ko’s growing legion of fans.
Ko hooks her opening drive into the trees and starts with a double bogey. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
But Ko, the reigning US Amateur champion, fought back with birdies at the 4th and 5th holes, which narrowed the margin between her and Shin to one stroke. There was a small setback with a bogey on the par-4 10th after she hooked her drive deep into the trees left of the fairway. Ko was, again, two strokes behind.
Then, on the long par-4 12th, Ko smoothed a hybrid shot onto the green to 15 feet and rolled in the birdie. Shin, who found a greenside bunker with her approach, failed to get up and down and the ledger was back to all square, exactly where they started after 54 holes.
The momentum seemed to be heading back Ko’s way but a touch of genius from Shin snuffed out any hope Ko had of winning the title. Shin made a miraculous chip-in birdie from well left of the 14th green. Ko, who found a fairway bunker en route, made bogey and fell back into third place as Tseng, playing three groups in front made another birdie to be just one shot behind Shin.
Tseng’s par-birdie-par finish had the two-time Australian Open champion signing for a 66 and the clubhouse lead at 16 under. It was never going to be enough with Shin backing up her chip-in birdie with a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th. The former World No.1 had her nose in front by two strokes and was never going to headed.
It was a memorable victory for Shin who had been beaten out of the title in play-off by Karrie Webb in 2008 and then, again, in 2011 she had to settle for second place behind Tseng, who claimed the Patricia Bridges Bowl by six shots.
“Well, finally I win in Australia so I really happy about that and well, I was so nervous this morning because this course … I had a good chance for birdie but also hard to keep making the par,” Shin said. “Then the course is kept dry, so really hard to control my iron distance. I missed a few greens today but my chip shot was great and I had a good up and down out there.”
Talking about her chip-in birdie at the 14th, Shin agreed it was one of the best shots of her career.
Tseng said she felt she was no chance of winning at the start of the final round and she just wanted to have fun.
“I just wanted to make more birdies as I can,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking if I want to win.
“I mean, pretty tough fight, top 10, I’m pretty happy.”
She added that Ko was playing great and probably needed a little more experience.
“I think she will learn a lot from this tournament,” Tseng said. “She’s a great player and I think she just need to play more tournaments.”
Ko said her week in Canberra was a huge learning experience.
“I got to see Yani, Jiyai Shin this week, and then also Michelle Wie, she’s my idol,” Ko said. “I kinda learnt a little bit from everyone
So what now for Ko? The talk all week at the championship has been should she turn professional. There is no doubt she is already a superstar of the women’s game. Her first round 63, in the opening event of the LPGA season, got the golfing world’s focus on Royal Canberra.
By the time she teed off in the final round, worldwide interest was peaking with website hits on womensaustralianopen.com exceeding those for the all days of the men’s Australian Open last December. In the United States, The Golf Channel made an 11th hour decision to broadcast the final round live in prime time on the American east coast. They widely promoted the telecast as a chance to “watch Ko try for back-to-back”.
Ko could certainly command huge sponsorship money if she chose to turn professional. And her results are proof she has the game to match it with the world’s best, why not cash in on her brilliant talent? After all, she has forgone more than $700,000 in pay cheques in the 13 professional events she has played so far.
The youngster, who will start her year 12 studies next month, has fended off questions about her thoughts of turning professional by saying she is not thinking about that at the moment. It is known, however, that the idea of going to college in the United States is attractive to her.
“Realistically, she’s probably going to look to turn pro next year, only because the opportunities now are pretty obvious,” Ko’s coach, Guy Wilson, said. “Wasting two years at college could be a disadvantage.”
Then, of course, if she does decide to turn pro even in the next 12 months or so, where would she play? The LPGA has a minimum age requirement of 18, which would have to be waived by commissioner Mike Whan. The Ladies European Tour has similar restrictions.
But what Tour commissioner in his right mind would knock back an application from the most exceptional young talent in the game.
She has captured the imagination of the golfing public and would be an asset to the success of either Tour. Not only is Lydia Ko a fine player, she showed at Royal Canberra that she is also a gracious loser and at 15, a fine ambassador for the game.
For final scores go to www.womensaustralianopen.com.au
DAY THREE COVERAGE
THE Women’s Australian Open stage is set for a head-to-head final round duel between 15-year-old schoolgirl Lydia Ko and former World No.1 Jiyai Shin, as Brendan James reports.
The race to become champion is seemingly a race in two with both Shin and Ko firing to three-under-par 70 to open up a six-stroke buffer on the field at Royal Canberra.
Just as they did in the final round of the Canadian Open last year, the pair will head out together in the last group. Of course, it is history now that Ko won that event (just 14 days after winning the US Amateur) and became the youngest player to ever win on the LPGA Tour. Tomorrow, she will have a shot at holding down second place in that age record.
The Korean-born New Zealander will also being aiming to win her third national Open championship in six months.
Ko fires her approach into the 16th green. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
For Shin, she will hoping to go one better than her two runner-up finishes in this event – firstly to Karrie Webb at Kingston Heath in 2008 and again to Yani Tseng at Commonwealth in 2011.
Ko paid tribute to her final round partner, a two-time major winner, saying they had similar games but there were still things she would like to learn from her.
“They say we look alike too,” Ko said with a giggle. “I’ve seen her play before at the Canadian Open and on TV. She’s a pretty accurate player I guess off the tee, so in that way we could be pretty similar.
“She’s a great player and there are things that I do need to learn from her.”
While Shin will pocket the $180,000 first-prize purse if she finishes first, or second behind Ko, the teenager says she will be nervous as usual before hitting off.
“The nerves are still there,” she said. “I get nervous when I’m playing an amateur tournament, I get nervous for pretty much every tournament.
“I’m really privileged to have played … like this is my 13th pro event, and not many amateurs get to play that many.”
It only took nine holes of the third round for the Ko, playing in the penultimate group, and Shin to pull away from the pack. Ko rattled off birdies at the 2nd, 4th and 6th holes, while Shin birdied the 4th and holed a shot from a deep greenside bunker for eagle at the par-5 6th hole.
Shin in full flight on the par-4 9th hole. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
The pair was also aided by some dropped shots coming from West Australian Kristie Smith and 36-hole leader Mariajo Uribe, from Colombia.
Uribe had not made a single bogey throughout the opening two rounds but she opened the third day with one on the par-5 1st hole. Another bogey followed on the par-5 4th hole, which she was able to wipe off with a birdie at the next. But she didn’t appear comfortable after that and five more bogeys were added to the card. She finished with a disastrous six over 79.
Uribe digs out her third shot into the par-4 10th hole. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
Smith also had a day she would rather forget. A bogey at the opening hole set the tone for the day and she finished with a 77.
The only threats to Shin and Ko, it would seem, might come from Spanish duo Beatriz Recari (71) at 11 under and Carlota Ciganda (69) who improved to finish nine under.
Recari sees herself as still a chance to win. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
Having just made the cut, France’s Gwladys Nocera fired an eight under 65, including seven birdies and an eagle, and she will start the final round eight strokes behind Shin and Ko.
Earlier in the day, Karrie Webb was out in the first group of the day at 7.23 and over the next four and a half hours she pieced together a very good four under 69, which saw her climb from the bottom into the mid-section of the leaderboard.
The eight-time major champion had a good gallery of a few hundred people following her despite the fact she was well out of contention for the Patricia Bridges Trophy.
For full scores from round three go to www.golfaustralia.org.au
DAY TWO COVERAGE
COLOMBIA’S Mariajo Uribe heads into the weekend of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open with a one-shot lead and few expectations, as Brendan James reports from Royal Canberra.
The 22-year-old, who is yet to record a bogey in this tournament, followed on from her opening round 64 with an equally impressive six under 67 to be at 15 under. She could have created a two-shot buffer between her and the field but an eight-foot birdie try at the par-4 9th (her final hole) rolled agonizingly by the edge of the cup.
Uribe says she has not hit the ball that well for the past two days but she has putted “great”. Heaven help the field if she starts hitting it well!
Mariajo Uribe putts for a two-shot lead but …PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES
…the ball starts drifting…
..and slides by. Oh the frustration!
“I made good putts and take advantage of the opportunities,” said Uribe, who hasn’t played a tournament for two months. “It’s funny the tournaments I play better are the ones that I’m rusty or that I’m not hitting the ball that well.
“I think I come in with low expectations and I can’t change that. I have to just stay patient, keep doing the same thing, hopefully no bogeys, that really helps out for scoring and just keep doing birdies on the par-5s. I think that is the key on this course.”
Ranked 125 in the world, Uribe’s only professional win came in the LPGA unofficial Brazil Cup in 2011 when she beat Aussie Lindsey Wright by a shot.
But this young lady can seriously play. She won the 2007 US Women’s Amateur at the age of 17 and remains the only player from Latin America to achieve that feat.
The UCLA graduate is in unchartered waters at the top of a leaderboard in a 72-hole national championship. Will she be nervous?
“I’m not the type of player that gets nervous,” she said. “I love pressure, so that’s when I play better usually, when I have pressure.”
And there will be pressure as she will be play alongside former World No.1 Jiyai Shin, who is one shot behind Uribe at 14 under.
Shin took advantage of the easier scoring conditions in the morning to surge clear of the field midway through the second round.
Jiyai Shin crunches a fairway wood into the par-5 14th. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
The 25-year-old Korean, who posted just one bogey in her opening round 65, was at it again on day two with five birdies and a bogey in her first nine holes, which catapulted her to the top of the leaderboard before first round leader, 15-year-old Kiwi Lydia Ko, had even arrived at the course.
Three more birdies on the homeward stretch and the two-time major winner was four shots clear of Ko. However, a bogey on her final hole, the par-4 9th, saw her slip back to 14 under and just a one-shot buffer over Ko, who was only six holes into her second round and already three-under-par for the day.
The last hole bogey didn’t darken Shin’s mood at all. As ever, she smiled and thanked the crowd and later explained why he wasn’t worried about the dropped shot.
“I had two bogeys today but there were a lot more birdies so I cannot complain,” laughed Shin.
Shin finished runner-up, in a play-off, in the 2008 Australian Open behind Karrie Webb at Kingston Heath and again in 2011 at Commonwealth when Yani Tseng was a seven-shot runaway victor.
With rounds of 65-67, Shin feels confident she will again be in he mix to win the Patricia Bridges bowl come Sunday.
“I feel really comfortable,” she said. “I don’t know why. I can feel I can hit an eight or a six under par out there.
“This course has five par-5s, so we have a lot of chance to make the birdies. So I’m really feeling good at the moment. I can’t wait for next couple of days how I’m going to play.”
This time 12 months ago Shin was struggling with a hand injury. Doctors identified she had a small broken bone on the edge of the palm of her left hand. “Too much practice maybe,” chuckles Shin, who, like most of her Korean compatriots are renowned for their intense work ethic.
“I had surgery and the bone came out,” she says. “Now it’s not anymore problem and I feel really good.
“Actually after the surgery I lost a lot of muscle on my left arm and shoulder, so I worked very hard with my left side muscles. It’s really good at the moment, good balance and I’ve got a lot of muscle. So I gain more distance after the surgery.”
The break from the game only helped to fuel the hunger to succeed and win tournaments again.
“Then when I break for a couple of months after the surgery, I found my passion for the golf, because before the surgery I was very busy. I played on the LPGA and also I played in JLPGA Tour, so obviously I was so tired,” Shin said.
“But when I take the break in my house and I’m when I’m watching the other players playing in the tournament I just like, I really want to go back to the play and finally I found a good passion for the golf in my life. So it was good experience for me.”
She returned to the LPGA Tour with a bounce in her step and finished the year with two wins, including a nines-shot win in the Women’s British Open, and she led the scoring averages for the year.
After speaking with Golf Australia, Shin headed out to the practice range and she would have noted the scoreboard en route … she was no longer alone at the top of the leaderboard, as Ko moved to 14 under too.
Ko opened her second round with two pars before striking with her first birdie at the long par-3 3rd. Then she went on another tear with three consecutive birdies from the 5th hole and was still planted on 14 under par through 11 holes of her round.
Kristie Smith’s only glitch in round two came with a double bogey resulting from this bunker shot at the par-3 13th. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
With the wind starting to pick up and the greens getting firmer and faster, scoring became difficult throughout the afternoon and Ko, who was five under for the day through 12 holes, dropped a shot at the 14th hole. She said later she didn’t believe the wind was a factor in her scoring and was happy with finishing at 14 under and only a shot behind Uribe.
In the third round, Ko will tee up alongside young West Australian Kristie Smith, who carded a second consecutive round of 68 to be at 10 under and the leading Australian.
“it was fantastic today, another solid round,” Smith said. “I probably hit the ball a lot better yesterday … I sort of scrapped it around today and I putted fantastically.
“I’m definitely putting better this week than I have for the past few weeks.”
Smith’s first professional victory was on this course in the 2010 Canberra Classic and admits the Royal Canberra layout really “suits my eye”.
“I’ve been excited about this week because I knew some good scores were coming,” she said. “And I really love this course … it suits my eye. When I play here I don’t have – it sounds stupid – that fear of water, fear of out-of-bounds. I feel like I can just stand up there and rip it down the middle.
“I’m strong enough if I hit it in the rough I can still get it up there on the green. The water and out-of-bounds thing is something I’m working on.”
Smith has been working with mind coach Sean Lynch for the past 12 months to overcome some of the anxieties she feels on the course.
“I tend to sometimes put too much pressure on myself and I just implode,” Smith said.
“I went through a little bit of anxiety for the last sort of 18 months and that did not help at all. I struggled to even sort of tee it up on the golf course. I didn’t want to get out of bed and play golf. I sort of tossed and turned each night wondering if this is what I wanted to do, but when you’re in the spotlight again it sort of just urges you on to just keep going.
“I went back and I got a job, I did the whole normal life for about four or five months and it made me realise a few things. I’ve got the nest job in the world and I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as I can.”
Shin, who played with Ko in the final group when the schoolgirl won the Canadian Open last year, said Ko will be tough to beat this weekend.
“She never get nervous,” Shin laughs. “She was just 15 and the Canadian Open is a pretty big event on the LPGA and she never got nervous. She really enjoyed playing and she really enjoyed the crowd. I’m very impressed by that.”
Tee to green Karrie Webb was solid but the putter wasn’t working today. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
Four-time Australian Open champion Karrie Webb had a tough day at the office. Her one-over-par 74, the result of a putter that never got out of bed, left her sitting at one under and she only just made the cut at one under, along with Stacey Keating and two-time winner Laura Davies. Michelle Wie was a further shot back and out of the weekend action.
DAY ONE COVERAGE
INCREDIBLE KO LEADS OPEN
SCHOOLGIRL Lydia Ko has fired an amazing 10-under-par 63, including 11 birdies and an eagle, to seize the first round lead of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Canberra Golf Club today.
The 15-year-old Kiwi got off to a nervous start recording a bogey at her opening hole – the par-4 10th – but it only served to get her mind on the job. Playing alongside World No.1 Yani Tseng and her ‘early’ childhood hero Michelle Wie (who is only 22), Ko made the game look incredibly easy as she birdied the next four holes.
Lydia Ko watches a birdie putt slide by on her 9th hole. PHOTO: BRENDAN JAMES
Then, on the 428-metre par-5 15th, Ko pushed her drive to the right edge of the dogleg left hole and was nearly 60 metres behind the powerful drives of Tseng and Wie. Playing with the course smarts of a veteran, she played the perfect lay-up leaving 90 metres to the flag. With Tseng and Wie chipping for three, Ko fired her pitching wedge at the flag. It bounced a few feet beyond the cup and spun back into the hole. A high five from Wie to celebrate was quickly forthcoming.
That was the tone of Ko’s round. For much of the day she simply could do no wrong. She made the turn at six under (30) with yet another birdie, this time a slight left-to-right breaking putt from 12 feet. Ko made her first par of the day to open the back nine. Five more birdies followed, including a tap-in on her final hole – the par-4 9th – where she nearly holed a 6-iron from 150 metres.
“It was a lot of the fun out there today,” the smiling teen said. “I was pretty nervous when I saw the draw that I was playing with two of the big names, but I mean the weather was beautiful and I think we all enjoyed it out there.”
When she reached nine under with five holes to play, did she let herself think of possibly shooting the magical 59?
“Not really because I’ve played good before and then gone bogey, triple, double bogey in the last three holes before,” she laughed. “I didn’t really think of what I was going to shoot, I just took it one shot at a time.”
Ko, who had just 21 putts in her round today, said this 63 was her lowest ever round, bettering the eight under mark she set in winning the NSW Open last year.”
Tseng, who signed for a five under 68, was glowing in her praise of young Ko’s play.
“I’m a little disappointed on my 18th hole … I made a bogey. But five under is still a good day, a very solid round … but to Lydia five under is nothing,” Tseng laughed.
“It was fun to watch her play golf today. I mean she still looks 15, I don’t know how she hit the ball that well. I wasn’t even that close to her when I was 15. It was very interesting to see her play and I think she pushed me to play better … I didn’t want to lose so I had to make birdie to try and stay with her.”
The world’s best female pro added the world’s best amateur was “incredible”, singling out her work on the greens as fantastic.
“These greens are not easy to read, but for her, she is taking care of it. Even when she missed she almost made the putt,” Tseng said. “She could’ve shot a 12 or 13 under today.”
While Ko, now ranked No.30 in the world, set the pace Wie was struggling to keep up. Some missed opportunities early were compounded by a quadruple bogey nine on the par-5 18th (her 9th hole) where a wayward drive into trees forced her to chip-out sideways. The recovery shot hit a tree branch and finished in a hazard and she had to take a penalty drop before extricating her ball from the trees. Her fifth shot found more trees left of the green, where she was awarded a free drop from a sponsors sign. A chip and three putts later and the American had quickly raced to four over and looking likely to have the weekend off.
Michelle Wie assesses her escape. PHOTOS: BRENDAN JAMES
before trying to extricate her ball from a horrible lie …
…to no avail. Her ball hits a tree and ricochets into the hazard
But to here credit, Wie kept her composure and managed to regain three of those four dropped shots to finish her round with a one over 74. She will be buoyed by the fact she only had 24 putts for the round.
With the afternoon players midway through their first round, Ko held a one-stroke lead over Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe, who had a flawless nine under 64 with seven birdies and an eagle. Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee and Japan’s Ayako Uehara are a further shot back on seven under.
Leading the Australian charge is Katherine Hull-Kirk, who carded a five under 68 and looked to be in great form from tee to green. Four-time Open champion Karrie Webb is striking the ball well and was two under through 12 holes as storm clouds began rolling in from the south-west.
For live scoring go to www.golfaustralia.org.au
