Charley Hull made a huge Sunday charge at the Lalla Meryem Cup with 4 birdies and an eagle on the front for a 30 that brought her within reach of 3rd-round leader Gwladys Nocera, then followed that up with 3 more birdies on the back for a 62 and a -15 finish for the week. But the LET veteran stayed strong, making 5 birdies in her 1st 13 holes and taking a bogey-free round and a 1-shot lead into the final hole. Hold the presses, though! Nocera bogeyed the par-3 18th and we have a playoff at -15!!
[Update 1 (11:05 am): The outcome of the playoff will determine if today will be a better day for the English or the French. Nocera's countrywoman Sophie Giquel-Bettan finished at -11 for the bronze, and Lee-Anne Pace (66, -10, T4) and Stacy Lee Bregman (67, -6, T10) represented for South Africa, but it's England as far as the eye can see (at least in the top 10): Hannah Burke (66, -10), Sophie Walker (68, -8), Holly Clyburn (69, -8), Trish Johnson (68, -7), Laura Davies (69, -7). Tough day for Team Thailand, as defending champion and 2nd-round leader Ariya Jutanugarn submitted to the Mostly Harmless jinx with a 72-73 weekend, tying countrywoman Titiya Plucksataporn (72) and France's Joanna Klatten (69) at -5. If Hull can pull this off, it'll be a huge day for England!]
[Update 2 (11:20 am): Charley did it with a birdie on the 1st playoff hole!]
[Update 3 (11:26 am): I'm guessing that Hull's 1st LET victory will get a little more attention than Yuki Ichinose's 2nd on JLPGA earlier today! This is why Asian golf needs the LPGA's International Crown....]
[Update 4 (11:44 am): I want to formally apologize to Ariya Jutanugarn for my part in calling down the wrath of the Mostly Harmless jinx on her!]
[Update 5 (12:20 pm): Hull's made it onto Golf Babes! Not for the 1st time, I'm sure, but the 1st time with a major professional tour victory under her belt!]
[Update 6 (12:28 pm): On the anniversary of Annika's 59, here's how Hull described her win on twitter!]
[Update 7 (12:36 pm): Brent Kelley has the Charley Hull story on about.com's golf page!]
[Update 8 (2:58 pm): With so many folks focusing on Charley and her dad, it's worth noting that English golfer Karen Stupples has been blogging about her early days in the game and her dad's support and influence, most recently yesterday.]
[Update 9 (10:18 pm): The LET has an interview with Hull posted on youtube, but I'm not finding her 4-iron to 4 feet from the playoff.]
2 comments:
Thank you so much for mentioning Karen's blog; I had no idea. She has a great story which I am enjoying so much.
It's been in my left sidebar for a little while, but I try to plug it every chance I can think of!
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