The curtain continues to come down on the golfing year but not before the completion of the various rich Tour Championships Finals. This week it was the turn of the game’s leading female exponents to divvy up no less than US$11 million (NZ$17million) in prizemoney in Naples, Florida.
At last it seems as if Corporate America is finally, albeit slowly, acknowledging the worth and merit of women’s golf. It’s been nothing short of a scandal in recent times to watch the ever-galloping increase in prizemoney for men’s tournaments, sure, fuelled out of necessity to some extent by the advent of LIV Golf and its huge purses via Saudi Arabi’s dubious petrodollars.
It’s hardly surprising the Saudis, given the harsh restrictions they impose on their own female citizens, have shown little interest in replicating their men’s LIV Golf template on women’s golf.
Most weeks, while women on the USLPGA Tour play for a total purse of US$2million, their male counterparts in some other part of the US are often playing for ten times that amount.
So the CME Globe’s Women’s Tour Finale, with its total US$11million purse and US$4million of that going to the winner, was a most welcome addition to the golfing calendar.
As expected, Lydia Ko, in the form of her life in recent months, was right in there chasing down that huge first prize. In the end, despite a brilliant final round of 63 (9pars and 9 birdies), Lydia had to settle for third place and a cheque for US$500,000 (NZ$850,000). How she must be kicking herself for a series of putting woes during her second round which saw her take 34 putts. She admitted after this round she failed to come to terms with the fact that the greens were running much quicker on Day Two than they were on Day One. Her opening round of 67 included just 26 putts, her second
round of 74 required 34 putts. However she staged an amazing recovery over the final two rounds, posting a 67 on Day Three and then that 9 under 63 to finish with.
Incidentally, across the four rounds, Lydia missed only one fairway, hitting 55 out of 56 fairways, an almost unbelievable statistic in either men’s or women’s golf.
The big prize and that 4 million cheque went to the 24-year-old Thai golfer, Jeeno Thitikul, who finished eagle, birdie to edge out the American, Angel Yin. The two playing together on the final day had a seesaw battle all day. In the end it came down to the final hole. The two were tied at 21 under as they made their way up the last hole. Thitikul put her second shot within 5 feet of the hole while Yin’s second came to rest also on the green but 25 feet from the hole. She missed her long birdie putt. Thitikul, with 4million dollars riding on one 5-foot putt, made hers to record her fourth victory
on the LPGA Tour.
Elsewhere, closer to home, there were good finishes by three of our younger brigade of pro golfers - Nike Voke, Kazuma Kabori and Kerry Mountcastle - all of whom finished inside the top 25 of the Australia PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland layout.
Voke was the best of the Kiwis with a final round of 65, 6 under par, which elevated him in to a share of 8th place. Kabori got off to a great start with birdies on 3 of the first 5 holes. Unfortunately for the young Kiwi he dropped shots 10, 13 and 14 but showing his great promise, two late birdies saw him
sign for 2 under 69 and a share of 15th place and a cheque for AUS$16,000. Mountcastle finished in a tie for 24 th place. Due to some adverse weather, the tournament was reduced to 54 holes. The three
Kiwis now head to Victoria for the Australian Open to be played across two courses - Kingston Heath and the Victoria Golf Club starting Thursday.
Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Kiwi golfer Ben Campbell finished second at the Hong Kong Open which forms part of the Asian PGA Tour. Campbell, the defending champion, put up a brave showing as he tried to defend his title. He opened with a 63 and followed that up with a 65 on the second day to lead the tournament at the halfway stage. But on Day Three he and the rest of the field were humbled by a remarkable display of red-hot golf by 2019 Masters Champion, Patrick Reed, who shot a 59 - 11 birdies and 7 pars. He joins that very rare club of golfers who have shot under 60 in a professional 72-hole tournament.
Reed went on to record a three-shot victory on the last day, but Ben Campbell stormed home over the last 9 holes, recording 5 birdies in the process to finish alone in second place, worth just over NZ$400,000.
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