Fresh victory pushes Pettersen two spots up in world rankings
A much-wanted victory at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship 2012 helped Norwegian Suzann Pettersen boost her world ranking by two spots. The star golfer now stands at the seventh position in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
It was a stunning victory in every sense because Pettersen, who once used to strike fear into rivals with her solid putting and resilience, was able to put an end to her long victory drought.
Pettersen still has a long way to go before she can position herself against stars like current world number one Yani Tseng, Stacy Lewis and South Korean Na Yeon Choi.
However, her performance at Incheon, South Korea, has reflected that she is keen to move on and regain her lost position in the Women’s World Golf Rankings.
The LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) phenom found herself in a comfortable position at the start of the LPGA Hana Bank Championship 2012, as she shot a rock-solid 63 to gain an early lead.
However, she was soon joined by veteran Catriona Matthew, who roared to the top by performing well and managed to equal score with that of Pettersen’s at the end of the final round.
Both the rivals scored an overall 205 each in the three rounds to move into playoff. Pettersen held her nerve and outperformed Matthew by shooting a birdie on the third extra hole.
Sharing her thoughts at the end of the tournament, Pettersen said that she was more than happy after ending her winning drought, and she looks forward to the coming LPGA tournaments in the current and the next season.
Explaining how she was able to subdue her nearest rival in playoff, the winner said that she was not sure that she would face such a tough situation in the final round.
Matthew made her way into contention all of a sudden, after she posted a 67 in the final round.
“You know, to be quite honest I had no clue. The last time I saw the scoreboard I saw Catriona was 12‑under through 16. When we got to 17 ourselves, I believe the board was like way outdated,” said Pettersen, who has now racked up nine LPGA titles, including the LPGA Hana Bank Championship 2012.
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