Lindsey Wright retains her lead in final round to win ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open – Golf News
Australian female veteran golfer, Lindsey Wright, shot a spectacular four-under par 68 in the final round at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open on Sunday, February 19, 2012, to take a single-stroke victory over her compatriot Jessica Speechley and Alison
Walshe from the United States.
Wright entered the final round with tie for the lead with five other players, Walshe, Haeji Kang, Carlota Ciganda, Lydia Ko and Mariajo Uribe.
However, she was the only one to retain her position at the end of the round, with all other players whose positions slipped down the leaderboard.
Her start to the final round was not an impressive one. She started off with a bogey on the par-four first. However, she quickly bounced back to offset her bogey with five birdies on the front nine.
Again, a bad patch came when she made a double bogey on the par-four 13th and needed a couple of birdies to regain her lead.
On the final hole, she needed a birdie putt to confirm her name on the trophy, which she succeeded with a confident stroke in the end.
“It is unbelievable,” Wright said who finished 10-under par 206 at the Pegasus Golf Club. “It is still sinking in. I putted really well all day and the last six holes I was really nervous”.
“I looked at the leaderboard and saw Alison Walshe up there and Speechley at 9 under and thought, ‘No, I can make this putt. Just keep your head down, just hit a great putt,’” Wright said.
Speechley, who was listed on the 18th at the start of the round, played the best round of the day to make a jump of 16 positions, taking the second spot on the leaderboard.
The highlight of her performance was her front nine score, as she managed to score five birdies and an eagle in total to go seven under par.
However, she failed to maintain her consistency while playing the back nine and carded only a single birdie against the lone bogey.
After the tournament finished, she looked a little disappointed and said that she could have avoided the only bogey shot she made, which cost her a possible victory in the event.
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