WOMEN’S OPEN: Patient Webb ready for crack at No.6

BY BRENDAN JAMES AT THE GRANGE GC

GARY Player, the legendary winner of nine major titles, once said: “A good golfer has the determination to win and the patience to wait for the breaks."

Karrie Webb has both traits in spades.

Karrie Webb's ball-striking has been superb during the first three rounds.
PHOTO: Brendan James/Golf Australia magazine

She’s been waiting for the breaks to come as she pursues her sixth ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. The 41-year-old has made just three bogies in 54 holes of this championship, and has been getting little reward for her great ball-striking.

Her patience has indeed been tested but she can be confident of two things – a low round is not far away and any player seeing the name K. Webb near the lead knows they will have to play well to get passed her.

“I’m not sure my name means the same on a leaderboard as perhaps it did a little while ago,” Webb said. “But I think most people respect the fact that I know how to win and that if I’m up there with a few holes to go I probably might have a good crack at it.”

If the Hall of Famer does go on to win the Open, she might just look back at her closing hole of the third round as the break she needed to go on and win the championship.

After her approach to the 18^th green somehow found brakes and stopped short of a greenside bunker, she was left with a very difficult chip shot, which finished 20 feet from the hole. She made the putt and saved her par to not only boost her confidence with the blade but to also give her some momentum heading into the final round.

“I just got a bit unlucky there (with the approach),” Webb said. “If it had rolled in the bunker, it would been a challenging bunker shot but a lot easier than the chip I had to have.

“But (the putt) I just wanted to put a good stroke on it and if I could make then I knew that was good momentum going into tomorrow.”

Webb burns the hole with her birdie attempt on the 17th.
PHOTO: Brendan James/Golf Australia magazine

Webb’s final hole heroics sealed a two under 70, which kept her at eight under alongside World No.1 Lydia Ko. Both will start the final round one-stroke adrift of the leading trio – American Danielle Kang (67), Korea’s Jenny Shin (70) and Japan’s Haru Nomura (70).

LEADERBOARD  | FINAL ROUND TEE TIMES

Ko grabbed a share of the lead early in her third round, after opening with four consecutive birdies to reach eight under with a flurry. But a bogey at the 5^th halted her run and birdies became much hard to come by. With the wind picking up and the course getting firmer, the 18-year-old battled hard to get back to eight under with a birdie at the long par-4 17^th hole and close out with a par for a 68.

“It's quite weird to say I was four-under through the first four and then even for the next 14, but I finished well with a birdie on the 17th and a good two-putt on the 18th,” Ko said. “But it's tough out there. It wasn't as breezy as yesterday but with the contours of the greens and the firmness and everything, it's tough.

“I'm pretty pleased with my round today. It's the best round I've had in the last few days so I'll take it for sure.”

Ko, like Webb, believes she is well placed to make a run at the Patricia Bridges Trophy.

“I wanted to shoot in the 60s at least one of the rounds,” Ko said. “It's kind of a goal accomplished and it puts me in a good position for tomorrow. You can see by the scores that a lot of the girls are making birdies and great scores, nobody's out of it.

“Five or six shots behind, that can still put you in it at the end of the day. So I've just got to focus on my game tomorrow and have fun out there.”

Lydia Ko flushes her iron approach to the 17th green, setting up a birdie.
PHOTO: Brendan James/Golf Australia magazine

Staying patient, as Webb suggests, will be key to winning the Open according to Kang, who had a flawless five under 67 to join the lead.

“I think that this golf course puts so many different types of game into play,” Kang offered. “Jenny Shin has a great short game. Lydia Ko is a great ball striker and short game player. There’s a lot of good people on the leaderboard … Karrie is right there. Catriona.

“Everyone is right there so you’ve just got to go out and see what happens. Be patient and play your game.”

There are 18 players within four shots of the leading trio and those who run out of patience first, those that blink first and push their luck, are likely to be watching the trophy presentation from the locker room.