Katherine Hull finishes strong at ShopRite LPGA Classic
Australian Katherine Hull, not among the hot favourites for the ShopRite LPGA Classic 2012, displayed a better-than-expected performance in the second and final round, finishing runner-up.
Hull shot an overall 205, standing four strokes behind the match leader, Stacy Lewis from the United States.
Getting off to a sensible start, the Aussie star did not appear to be under pressure in lieu of the strong field. She made balanced strokes on almost all the holes and kept the pressure high on her nearest rivals.
Hull posted a 71 in the opening round, but her best performance was seen in the second round, as she scored a stunning 66, further consolidating her position on the leaderboard.
Analysts said that the field was quite fearsome — even stronger than last year's.
Some of the prominent contenders included the current world number one, Yani Tseng, world number three Suzann Pettersen, Stacy Lewis, Azahara Munoz, Lexi Thompson, Paula Creamer, Ai Miyazato, Amy Yang and Laura Davies.
Hull came close to stopping Lewis from advancing, but lousy strokes on some holes in the final round offset the impact of her flawless performance.
Speaking to the media about her stellar performances, the Aussie star said that she did better than her fans had expected.
She heaped praises on Lewis, saying her rivals were way stronger, which was why she could not outplay the winner in the final round.
“Well, catching her was going to be hard. She's playing great. So I think it was probably more a battle for second place. And yeah, you just gotta be patient out here, and fortunately I put a good round on the board and really happy to finish second,”
Hull shared.
She went on to say that she knew right from the start of the tournament that her nerve would play a pivotal role in her game, and she managed to keep her cool most of the time.
The runner-up added that her performance on the back nine was particularly fine.
“Just stayed patient. I had three birdies on the last four holes, so that was kind of the key to the round really. Nothing was happening on the front nine, and made a couple bad swings,” she said.
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