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Charley Hull Secures Maiden LPGA Title During Busy Weekend in Golf

By: Golfshake Editor | Mon 21 Nov 2016


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


JORDAN SPIETH restored the natural order of things when he holed a 10-foot putt to win the Australian Open for the second time in three years. He beat Cameron Smith and Ash Hall in a playoff as Geoff Ogilvy saw his chances disappear with a wayward drive at the 16th. 

The American seemed to be out of contention midway through the round after a horrible ricochet off the flagstick at the seventh followed by a bogey at the eighth. He was four off the lead, but then his magical putting stroke turned things around, holing a huge birdie putt at the 16th, a long par save at the 17th and an eight-footer at the 18th to save par again..

He had closed with a 69, three-under par. So to the playoff against Smith and Hall, and Spieth struck a wonderful approach at the first playoff hole, the 18th, and holed yet another putt to win.

Spieth has not enjoyed the best of seasons, but hopes this is a sign of things to come in 2017. "The way we played the playoff, I think it's going to do wonders for me,'' he said. "I've been in a bit of a stall hitting the shots when they mattered. To hit those two shots in there right where I wanted to hit them and then to make the putt with it, is really big going forward and it's something I can draw on all next year.''

EVERYBODY loves an underdog and after Billy Horschel missed a tiddler on the final green during the first hole of a five-man play-off in the RSM Classic, we knew that we were going to get one.

After 72 holes, five players were tied on 265, 17 under. They were Blane Barber, Camillo Villegas, Billy Horschel, Mackenzie Hughes and Henrik Norlander, and only Villegas and Horschel had previously tasted victory on the PGA Tour. But for Villegas it had been a while.

Hughes had a triple-bogey seven at the 11th during the third round and it could have derailed his challenge but he showed guts and determination to battle his way back. He opened with a 61, followed it with a 67 and then came a 68, even with that triple-bogey. He had another bogey at the same hole in the final round, but held his nerve and holed a six-foot putt on the 18th for a 69 to force his way into the playoff.

With the light fading fast, all five headed back to the 18th. Horschel and Villegas all found the middle of the fairway, with Hughes, Barber and Norlander having to play from the rough. All of them found the putting surface, with Hughes hitting a glorious shot right over the flag.

First to go for his birdie was Norlander, but the 29-year-old finished a foot away. Next was Barber from about 20 feet and he couldn't make it either, and neither could Horschel. Hughes' ball rolled 15 feet beyond the hole but he hit his worst putt of the day. So it came down to Villegas, from slightly closer range, but he left it on the lip. Unbelievably, Horschel missed his tiddler so the remaining four headed back to the tee knowing that if they didn't find a winner this time then they would be heading home as darkness began to fall.

This time Norlander almost hit his drive into a water hazard and did well to find the front of the green. By now it was almost pitch black and all four did well to par the hole before, inevitably, being told that play was being stopped for the day.

When returning, all four players missed the green with their approach shots on the third playoff hole, and the 25-year-old Canadian, Hughes, was the only one to make par to secure his first PGA Tour victory in dramatic fashion.

The PGA Tour takes a six-week break as the big names go off in search of mega-bucks in a series of invitational events that allows them to fill up the festive wheelbarrow at tournaments such as the Templeton Shootout and the Hero Challenge - a tournament that takes on a whole new significance this year with the return to action of one Tiger Woods.

CHARLEY HULL, of England, putted the lights out during a final round of 66 to win the LPGA Tour Championship. It was her second 66 of the weekend as she defeated playing partner So Yeon Ryu by two shots. Incredibly, Hull played the final 36 holes without dropping a single shot as she set a new tournament record score of 19 under par.

Hull held a narrow 54-hole lead, one-stroke ahead of playing partners Brittany Lincicome and Ryu. She appeared nervous at the start, hitting her tee shot wayward to the right at the first hole followed by a wayward approach at the second. But as Hull began to steady herself she pulled ahead by as many as two-strokes. But Ryu kept pace, matching Hull at the par three, 16th hole to head into the final stretch tied at 18-under par. At the par 5, 17th hole Ryu’s approach rolled into the greenside bunker and up near the lip while Hull rolled hers up for an easy birdie. The two-shot swing left Ryu two-shots back heading to the final hole where she closed out her round of 67 to finish second at 17-under par for her 11th top-10 finish of 2016.

It was Hull's first victory on the LPGA Tour - and it will not be her last.

 


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Tags: PGA Tour Jordan Spieth FedEx Cup Charley Hull



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