NZ Women’s Open. Lydia Lifts Trophy.

World number one Lydia Ko lifts the NZ Women’s Open trophy at Clearwater Golf Club.

Lydia & Trophy / Getty Images

Lydia carded a last round -1 under par 71, to lift the NZ Women’s Open with a -14 under par total, and a four shot victory over the field. She said she really wanted to win her home National tile, and was happy so many fans turned out to watch her;

“I really wanted to win in front of such great crowds, this is probably the biggest crowd I’ve seen.” 

“I hit a really good shot in, if I was chipping I would’ve been more nervous, but when you hit a good shot on the green it’s a nice feeling.”

“It’s always cool winning on home ground. We were walking up 16 and (playing partner Giulia Sergas) said ‘they like you’. I said ‘well, it’s home’.”

“It’s just great, the spectators have been amazing. It’s one of the best tournaments I play each year, the atmosphere and everything.”

“The more Ws the better, but it was just great, and I think I had a really good off-season break which got me fresh going into this year.”

“All I can do is hit good shots and concentrate on my game. That’s all I can do. If someone else plays well there isn’t anything you can do about it.”

Australian amateur Hannah Green claimed second place at -10 under par, a solid final round of -4 under par 68 saw this talented young lady earn her second place.

Third place went to Nanna Koerstz Madsen, she also had a final round -1 under par 71 and finished with a -9 under par total.

N.Z. Women’s Open. Anne-Lise Leads.

Anne-Lise Caudal leads the N.Z. Women’s Open after the first round at Clearwater Golf Club.

Anne-Lise Caudal / Getty Images

Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal shot a first round -6 under par 66 at the NZ Women’s Open to top the leaderboard at Clearwater Golf Club.

She said had been playing well, and was not under real pressure to keep the birdies coming;

“I played some good rounds last year, and then last week and the week before also. I had two good weeks, I was very confident on the golf course, and I feel quite confident on this golf course.”

“Not really, I am just going to do the same, shot after shot and focus on the present, if the birdies come great, if not, just keep patient, there is another day on Sunday.”

Sharing second place at -5 under par are, Marianne Skarpnord, Nanna Madsen and American Samantha Troyanovich.

There are another four players bunched together at -4 under par, amateur Hannah Green, Beth Allen, Giulia Sergas and Noora Tamminen.

Rolex World No.1 Lydia Ko  teed off in the not so calm afternoon conditions in her National open. Lydia reported that she found it difficult to adjust to the type of shots she needed and also the pace of the greens here;

“Last week you were aiming to pitch 10 metres short of the green and asking it to run up. This week you have to say to yourself, let’s just hit it.”

“Two different courses and two very different conditions. It was tough on me today to hit the ball by the hole and be comfortable.”

“They (the greens) are very much slower here. Last week they were running 11 and a half to 12 and here they are 10 to 10 and a half.”

“You watch your opponent come up short, then you hit it well past. It was difficult to judge. It is totally different, so now I have to get back into the NZ Open mode.”

Lydia finished in a huge group who are all at -2 under par. Four shots off the lead may not seem a lot, but with only three rounds in the competition it is a long haul to get back into contention.

There are 40 players who are currently below par after the first day, and the cut will be made to the top 50 professionals and those tied at the end of round two on Saturday.

 

 

Hero Indian Open. Anirban Lahiri Wins in a Play-Off.

Anirban Lahiri wins his home tournament, the Hero Indian Open, at the Delhi Golf Club, in a play-off.

Anirban Lahiri / Getty Images

Anirban carded a final round -2 under par 69 to get into a play-off against long time leader S.S.P. Chawrasia at -7 under par for the Hero Indian Open.

Anirban made birdie at the first play-off hole, the par five 18th, to claim his National Title, something he did not think he had a chance of doing a the start of play today;

“It’s incredible, starting today I didn’t really think I had a chance.”

“It was one of the toughest days ever that I’ve played golf at Delhi Golf Club and I’m really happy to have accomplished this, it’s a childhood dream.”

“I was just trying to play well and give myself a chance on the back nine. There were about eight of us who could have pulled through so I feel really lucky and fortunate, and really happy.”

“It’s hard to come to terms with.”

“Just six months back I was in Spain at Qualifying School and really relieved having stared at not having my card with five holes to go, so it feels like I’ve skipped a couple of steps to get to where I am right now.”

“It’s obviously a fantastic feeling and hopefully I can keep playing well through the year.”

“The Masters is definitely one of my targets, I don’t know how far I’ll move up, but I’m pretty confident now with this win I should have a pretty good chance.”

S.S.P. collapsed in the last round, scoring +5 over par 76, which gave him the same -7 under par finishing total, and put him in the play-off.

Four players tied in third place at -5 under par for the competition, Joakim Lagergren, Mithun Perera, Prayad Marksaeng and Marcus Fraser.

 

ISPS Handa Australian Womens Open. Lovely Lydia Wins.

Lovely Lydia Ko wins the ISPS Handa Australian Womens Open at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

Lovely Lydia Ko / Getty Images

Lydia, the World Number One claimed the ISPS Handa Australian Womens Open title and picked up the  Patricia Bridges Bowl. Carding a final round -2 under par 71 giving her  two shot winning margin at -9 under par for the tournament around the dangerous Composite Course at Royal Melbourne.

Lydia’s coach, David Ledbetter had been telling her to stand tall, she was head and shoulders over everyone else in this competition;

“We’ve been working on my swing and be tall is the part in my swing where I shouldn’t dip my head and I would say my height is 5’3″ so he said ‘Lydia, you were 4’11” the other day’.”

“He told me to keep my height and said I was 5’3”.8’ and I was like, ‘Ok, I’m getting taller’. We were talking about that in the sense of ‘be tall’.”

“Be cool was because we discussed that it was going to be hot and also be cool in the head too, be smart, play safe when you need to and then be aggressive.”

“Play smart was really the biggest thing he told me at the beginning of this week.”

She stayed cool when the pressure came, at the short par-four, the eighth, her wedge shot flew through the green and down into a deep swale behind the putting surface, giving her virtually no chance of getting up and down. A missed flop shot compounded the error, she gathered all her mental strength, got the ball on the green, and then sunk the long bogey putt;

“After I hit the shot, I said, I should have just hit that second shot the first time.”

“Even if I didn’t make a par, it’s an easier bogey and I had to work really hard for that bogey.

“I think that bogey putt was really good and if I’d made a double, today could have been a whole different story.”

“Time flies, but I’m still 17 though.”

Amy Yang finished in second place with a -7 under par total, her final round -1 under par 72 was not enough, but she did have chances.

Ariya Jutanugarn had a calamitous last round, +3 over par 76, it gave her third position with a -4 under par total, and left her five shots behind the leader.

Hero Indian Open. S.S.P. Has Stranglehold.

S.S.P. Chawrasia has a stranglehold on the Hero Indian Open competition at the Delhi Golf Club.

S.S.P. Chawrasia / Getty Images

S.S.P. the Delhi Golf Club course specialist carded a third round -2 under par 69, to post -12 under par total and still sits on top of the Hero Indian Open leaderboard.

S.S.P. had his first bogey today, but remains happy with his performance;

“I feel great, I missed a few putts but I’m still happy.” 

“I missed my eight iron on the 17th hole, or else I would have still been bogey free.” 

“I want to think and play positive on the final day. The final round is always special so I will play aggressively.” 

“I played my own game and I am not thinking that I’m playing match play. If anyone is coming closer, let them, I just want to focus on my own game.” 

In what appears to be a two-horse race, Siddikur Rahman looks to be the only player who has a chance of mounting a challenge, his -10 under par total could have been better. He shot a -1 under par 70 today, which sadly included a double bogey;

“It was a good day, I had a nice rhythm and picked up a couple of shots until the double bogey.” 

“I managed to recover well and made a great par save on 17, and then managed to birdie the last so overall I am happy with one under today.” 

“The birdie at the last was very important. Anything can happen in this game, I am looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully I can play the way I did on Thursday.”

“I tried not to look too much at what S S P was doing today, I tried to focus on my own game and keep hitting the greens in regulation and try to make some birdie putts.”

Marcus Fraser is alone in third position at -7 under par, a third round -4 under par 67 moving him up the leaderboard.

Lowest round of the day came from Daniel Chopra, a -6 under par 65, but that total still leaves him six shots off the pace.

 

ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. Lydia and Ariya Lead.

Lydia Ko and Ariya Jutanugarn share the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open lead at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

Ariya Jutanugarn / Getty Images

Ariya and World number one Lydia will start the final round of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open with a one shot advantage over their rivals. Both ladies sit atop the leaderboard at -7 under par for the tournament, but in the withering heat today both of them could only card  third rounds of -1 under par 71.

Lydia was asked if she would take that score for tomorrow, on those firm and glassy greens, and said she would jump at the offer;

“Yeah, I would in that heat.”

“They’re really hard. I’m scratching my head over a three-footer or a thirty-footer.”

“It’s really tough, and because the hole is so tight, the lip-outs, they hurt. They’re not nice here.”

“The greens are one of the hardest parts and because they are so firm, it affects the shots that are coming into the green also.”

“On a course like this, unless you really get going on a putting streak, you’re not going to make seven, eight birdies and shoot the most incredible eight under.”

“I think this course you really have to play smart and when you have those chances, try to grab it because birdies are hard to see.”

Power hitter Ariya has had chances before to win this year, and will do her best again here;

“I’ve had the chance to be the leader before, but my plan is to do my best. Whatever happens, I’ll just take it.”

Amy Yang is alone in third place, at -6 under par, following her third round -3 under par 70.

Aussie Katherine Kirk and Julieta Granada from Paraguay share fourth spot on the leaderboard at -4 under par, both with -3 under par rounds of 70.

Katherine reported that birdie making did not come easily, but she wants to hold the  Patricia Bridges Bowl tomorrow;

“It’s not easy to make birdies out there and I made six today and I’m still kind of a little puzzled as to how.”

“I know I made two long putts, so they’re just bonuses. I think that was probably as good as it was going to get today.”

“I’d be very honored. I actually had the pleasure of travelling on an Australian team in 2002 to Malaysia to play the World Amateur Teams Championship, and Patricia made the trip and she’s just an incredible lady,”

“I’d be delighted to hoist the trophy and certainly proud to fly the flag for Australia tomorrow.”

 

ISPS Handa Australian Womens Open. Three Young Ladies Share the Lead.

Three young Ladies share the ISPS Handa Australian Womens Open lead at Royal Melbourne Golf Club at the half-way stage.

Lydia Ko,18 Ariya Jutanugarn, 20 and Ha-Na Jang, 22 have grabbed the lead in Australia.

Lydia Ko / Getty Images

World number one Lydia shot another -3 under par round to share the -6 under par lead at the ISPS Handa Australian Womens Open. On a day at Royal Melbourne where early morning fog caused delays, and the difficult Composite Course caused its own problems, rounds were taking up to six hours, and only one player broke 70. That lady was Ha Na, with her -4 under par 69 today, while Ayria carded -2 under par 71.

Lydia chipped in for an Eagle, with a 9 iron on the par four 15th, her second consecutive day with an eagle;

“I made on eagle on 14 yesterday and then I was angry that I came off with a par today.”

“I felt like it was a hole that I could easily come off with a birdie. I was kind of angry and that kind of anger led me to hit an aggressive drive on the 15th.”

“I was on the left edge of the fairway and I had 136 or something like that and I said ‘eight could be a little long,’ so I decided to punch a nine iron, and it landed just left of the pin and the mouth kind of feeded it right to the hole.”

Ha Na, in her maiden LPGA Tour season, has decided to keep it simple;

“I think only very simple thinking, fairway and green and then two putts and that’s it, no more thinking.”

Ayria is just enjoying life on Tour;

“I’ll just enjoy it and have fun, it’s why we play.”

Another youngster 18 year-old Charley Hull is alone in fourth spot, just one shot back at -4 under par for the competition, following back to back rounds of -2 under par 71.

Local legend, and defending champion Karrie Webb had a battle to make the cut, a par on the last got her into the weekend, but 11 shots off the lead;

“It’s actually hard to get in there and fully trust what you’re doing when you do hit a good shot and it goes over the back.”

“But I need to do that more. At this stage I’m not thinking about a result, I’m thinking about bringing on to the course what I’m doing in practice.”

Among those missing the cut were past winners Yani Tseng and Dame Laura Davies, while Sarah Jane Smith, Stacey Keating and last weekend’s RACV Ladies Masters winner Su Oh will all get a sleep-in.