WOMEN’S OPEN: Nomura stunning in historic victory

BY BRENDAN JAMES AT THE GRANGE GC

RANKED No.67 in the world and without an LPGA Tour win, Japan’s Haru Nomura wasn’t expected to win the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

Especially when she was sharing the leaderboard with the likes of in-form defending champion sitting Lydia Ko and seven-time major champion, Hall of Famer Karrie Webb.

Haru Nomura cops a shower of celebration from Lydia Ko.
PHOTO: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images.

Most predicted one, or both, of these Goliaths would overrun Nomura and her 54-hole co-leaders American Danielle Kang and Jenny Shin, of Korea, in the final round.

It wasn’t to be though, as the diminutive David, in the form of Nomura, stood tall among the champions with a closing round of 65, including eight birdies, to win the Patricia Bridges Bowl by three strokes. In years to come it will be remembered as one of the finest final rounds in the championship’s history. Only Webb’s 64 to win the 2000 Open by a shot from Rachel Hetherington at Yarra Yarra stands in front of it as the lowest Sunday score to win the championship.

The 162cm (5’4”) Nomura surged to a share of the lead through the opening nine holes, with birdies at the 5^th, 6^th and 9^th holes. She began the back nine journey as she finished the front, with a birdie and was two shots clear of Ko. Nomura birdied again at the 13^th hole to maintain her advantage over the World No.1, who was playing in the group in front and rattled off two birdies of her own at the 12^th and 13^th holes.

Champion selfie.
PHOTO: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images.

Nomura and Ko had separated themselves from the peloton and it was a race in two back to the clubhouse. The 23-year-old, with no victory in five years on the LPGA Tour, belied her winless past by seizing her future. Birdies at the 15^th, 16^th and 17^th holes left Ko in her wake.

The birdie on 17 – a 30-foot long bomb holed across a slick surface – was typical of Nomura's final day form. The ball was still gathering speed down the slight slope but it only had eyes for the hole and dropped straight in the middle. The trophy was as good as Nomura's and she could afford a loose shot up the 72^nd hole, which resulted in her first bogey since the 12^th hole of the third round.

When Nomura tapped in for her breakthrough win, Ko was one of the first to race onto the 18^th green and spray the new Women’s Australian Open champion with water and beer.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Still wet from the celebration, Nomura said she thought she had the win after she made birdie on the 15^th hole.

“I made birdie, then birdie 16, 17 birdie … that’s it,” the champion said.

“It has a big meaning, a first win on the LPGA Tour. It was surprising that it came early (in the year), but it’s just the beginning, I hope.”

With appreciative galleries lining the fairways over the closing holes, there were plenty of roars for Ko as she tried to chase down the leader. It proved only to spur Nomura on.

“It (the roars) makes me feel like I should try more and play better. There was no pressure,” she laughed.

Even against the best female player in the world?

“No, no pressure,” she laughed again.

Having led through 36 holes in the past two events on the LPGA Tour and fading to finish T13 in both, Nomura said she learned not worry about what other players were doing. It was a lesson well learned.

“I tried hard in those tournaments, but the third round was just tough,” she said. “But what I realised for this week is that I need to believe in my own golf and this week, that’s why I won.

“If I believed in my golf earlier, then I might have won those previous tournaments as well.”

Lydia Ko is all smiles despite a bogey to finish her closing round.
PHOTO: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images.

Nomura is the first Japanese woman to win the Australian Open in 42 years. The legendary ‘Chako’ Higuchi won the inaugural Open at Victoria Golf Club in 1974. She went on to become the first Asian player, man or woman, to win a major championship when she claimed the 1977 LPGA Championship, which ultimately helped her gain induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Through an interpreter, Nomura said she was “happy” to follow in Higuchi’s footsteps in winning the Australian Open, which is already reaping benefits for her. The victory has ensured she will now get a start in the rich Asian swing of LPGA events over the next few weeks.

For Ko, there was disappointment but she paid tribute to Nomura for simply playing better on the day.

“My goal was to shoot 67 today and I shot 67 and I fell a couple of shots behind and you know I felt like I played really solidly,” Ko said. “Obviously it’s not the best finish, you know, finishing with a bogey but other than that, you know I played really well.

“But Haru played even better and the roars I could hear, she seemed like she was holing a lot of putts. So when another player goes out and does it, it’s really out of my hands.

Karrie Webb shows her frustration at missing a birdie putt.
PHOTO: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images.

“It’s great to see her win, and you know it’s her first LPGA win … it’s great to see her win and she’s got a great personality, so congratulations to her.”

There was disappointment too for Webb, who looked very much like she might win her sixth Open title with three birdies in her first five holes. But her putter went cold and had her slipping further from the lead as the afternoon wore on. She finished in outright third, seven shots adrift of Nomura.

“I got off to a good start, I made a couple of putts and that was it,” Webb said matter-of-factly. “Didn't make any more putts after that. I hit it really nicely again today and it just gets really frustrating out there on the greens.

“I wasn't hitting bad putts. I hit a couple of bad putts at the end but that was neither here nor there in the end. I was hitting good putts, I just had trouble reading the greens all week.

“What I can take from this week is it's the best I've swung it for a long time and I know that the putts are going to drop so I just have to be patient.”

The next best Australian was reigning Ladies Masters Champion, Su Oh. The 19-year-old had her best round of the tournament, a four under 68, to jump into a share of 15^th position.

Webb says she is hitting the ball better than she has in a long time.
PHOTO: Morne de Klerk/Getty Images.

Oh will likely play the secondary Symetra Tour in the United States this year but her high finish in Adelaide will improve her LPGA re-rank that will ultimately earn her a few main Tour starts.

The Victorian played the final round alongside exciting Canadian teenager Brooke Henderson, who had a bogey-free round of 67 to sneak into the top-10.

The 18-year-old not only impressed with her big-hitting – she averaged 250.3 metres (273 yards) with a longest hit of 295 metres (322 yards) – but her course management skills, for such a young player, were outstanding. She will win a major sooner rather than later, even in this era where Ko is likely to dominate for several years to come.