Creamer wins Women's Open, first majors title
Paula Creamer got her first majors victory Sunday when she won the US Women’s Open. Creamer lead a field of talent golfers, who couldn’t match her consistency and confidence in the end, finishing with a three under 281.
Creamer started with a three-stroke lead and never let it get below two shots at a two under 69. Second place was shared by South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi and Norway’s Suzann Pettersen; both shot a five under 66 for a final one over 285.
After badly injuring her left thumb, Creamer, 23, wondered if she would ever play golf again, let alone win. She was often regarded as the best female golfer to never win a majors title and it was frequently asked why she couldn’t pull off a win.
“Now we never have to get asked that question again. It’s kind of a big relief off my shoulders,” Creamer said in her post tournament press conference. Her hyper-extended thumb remained heavily bandaged, and was working at about 60 percent, she said.
Creamer was only allowed 40 practice shots before each round on the Oakmont course. The fewer strokes she took, the less intense the pain. She first injured her thumb hitting a shot from the rough at the Wegmans LPGA tour last June. Creamer was reportedly in pain for the next couple of weeks, taking cortisone shots and finally being diagnosed with tendinitis and inflamed joint capsules. She underwent surgery in March of this year.
Creamer maintained the lead and gained confidence on the 7th and 8th par saving putts. She had a total of four birdies and two bogeys. She hit within 10 feet of the thick rough on the par four 14th and with ease dropped the putt for birdie. On the 15th she hit another exemplary shot with a mid-iron, the ball carried to four feet from the hole and Creamer made that too.
The Pink Panther, nicknamed because of her pink attire, didn’t get distracted mentally; she only looked at the leader board on the 18th hole when she was well in the lead.
"Without a doubt, I've matured over the last couple of months," said Creamer of her injury, lay-off, and recovery. "It was hard. I've prepared for this for the last three months and it makes everything so much better. ... It [the adversity] made me more of an adult."
Creamer began practising for Oakmont last year. She studied DVDs of the country club course when the 2007 US Open was won by Angel Cabrera. Creamer couldn’t have prepared better, the pin points were in exactly the same formation.
As for the other participants, first round leader Brittany Lang played her way to within two shots of Creamer before bogeys on the 15th hole, which dropped her six under 285. Cristie Kerr, favoured before the tournament and the worlds top ranked female player, looked good after consecutive birdies on the first and second holes, but fell back after four bogeys in the next six holes. Kerr tied at a disappointing 17th place.
“I played terrible, and Paula played great,” said Kerr in a post tournament interview.
15-year-old Alexis Thompson played well and is quickly rising to meet expectations as the next big star of women’s golf. She tied for 10th place after some faulty putting in the opening rounds. Petterson couldn’t believe how well the girl played. “She’s the best 15-year-old I ever saw,” she said of Michelle Wie’s successor.
Creamer has many happy American fans. Before she won the Women’s Open the United States had only won eight of the past 39 majors and all nine of Creamer’s LPGA victories were results of her going into the final round in the lead.
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