Karrie Webb won her seventh Australian Ladies Masters title yesterday, closing with a course-record 11-under 61 for a six-stroke victory.
Webb, a stroke ahead of defending champion Katherine Hull and South Korea’s Lee Bo-mee entering the final round, finished at 26-under 262 on the Royal Pines course to match the tournament record she set in 1999.
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng shot a 71 to finish on 276, tied for 11th place.
Webb holed a nine-iron approach for eagle on the par-four seventh and made a 30-foot putt on 18 for her ninth birdie of the round. She broke the course record of 62 set last year by Kristie Smith.
Hull and Lee shot 66s to tie for second. Lee did not have a bogey in the tournament.
Webb said she thought about shooting 59.
“When I stood on 16, I knew I had a four-shot lead and then I was trying to work out how many under I was,” Webb said. “I thought it was 10-under ... I thought I could shoot 59, but I was too tired to get nervous about it.”
Webb said her fatigue resulted from the duel she had on each hole with Hull earlier in the round.
“Katherine was pushing me all the way,” she said. “Just when I thought I created some breathing space, she came back with a birdie. I am really exhausted. On 13, I was eight-under on the day and still only had a two-shot lead. I was really starting to struggle, mentally tired. I just knew I had to dig deep and make some birdies coming in.”
South Korea’s Seo Hee-kyung (66) was fourth at 19-under and compatriot Ryu So-yeon (70) followed at 15-under. Amanda Blumenherst of the US, the leader after the first two rounds, shot a 70 to tie for eighth, 13 strokes behind Webb.
Webb, who shot 64 on Saturday, had several threats to her lead early on the back nine yesterday. She sank a seven-footer for par on the par-three 11th after hitting her tee shot in the bunker. Hull pulled within a stroke with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-five 12th, but Webb matched her with a 10-footer, restoring her two-stroke lead.
She took a three-stroke lead with four to play when she birdied the 14th and Hull left her birdie attempt short.
The 35-year-old Webb has won seven of the 21 Australian Masters held since 1990 and has played in 19 of them, giving her a winning percentage at Royal Pines of 36 percent. Her first win came in 1998, meaning she has won seven of the past 12.
Webb equaled Tiger Woods’ total as winner of the same tournament — Woods has won the WGC Bridgestone Invitational seven times. The PGA Tour says its record is held by Sam Snead, who won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times.
Gary Player won the Australian Open seven times and the LPGA Tour says its record is five, held by three players — Annika Sorenstam (twice), Mickey Wright and Se Ri-pak. The Ladies European Tour says Webb’s total is a record, but two of her Royal Pines wins came when it was an LPGA event and not on the European tour.
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