Catriona Matthew: the winner of the Ladies Irish Open
Catriona Matthew won the 2012 Ladies Irish Open with a one stroke lead over her nearest rival. This marks her first win of the year.
The Scottish player started the final round at the second place. Suzann Pettersen was leading the round with a lead of 2 strokes. This minor lead did not offer much resistance to Catriona Matthew as she played a great game in the final round.
She started the round with a bogey on the first hole. This further increased Pettersen’s lead by a stroke. Matthew played the next holes uneventfully and then shot two birdies on the fourth and fifth holes.
Next came a birdie on the seventh hole which was followed by a bogey on the eight. At this point, Matthew had played through the front nine and her score was 1-under 36.
She played through the back nine with ease. She scored a bogey on the 14th hole. However, she managed to recover with two birdies on 15th and 17th hole. At this point, it was clear that Matthew will take the trophy.
Her bogey on the final hole did cause some concern, but she still managed to beat Suzann Pettersen with a stroke.
Commenting about her win, she said, “I’m absolutely delighted. It’s always difficult going out in the lead. I was just kind of trotting along there at seven under and saw Suzann making some birdies. I think she thought she was in The Solheim Cup again”.
Suzann Pettersen proved to be the greatest threat to Matthew. At one time, it appeared that Pettersen might take the cup. Her performance in the second round was exceptional and her lead was one of the strongest points in her favour.
She played a great game on the front nine with three birdies and a bogey. However, she fumbled on the back nine and shot two bogeys on holes 10 and 17. This proved to be her undoing despite her three birdies on holes 13, 15 and 16.
Commenting on her game in the final round, Pettersen said, “I played good. I made a silly bogey on 17 and had to give it a go. I thought I could hit a very hard sand wedge and it was just a misjudgement of the wind. I made a run at it”.
Tags: