Suzann Pettersen beats Cristie Kerr to win the Sybase Match Play Championship
Norwegian ace Suzann Pettersen defeated Cristie Kerr of United States by 1-up on Sunday to lift the trophy of Sybase Match Play Championship, which took place at the par-72 Hamilton Farm Golf Club in New Jersey. The world-number
three earned her seventh win along with a winner’s prize of $375,000.
The ladies stepped into the final round early morning, to take advantage of the cooler temperature. Within the first hour of the final round, Kerr and Pettersen stood level with equal number of wins. Initially, Pettersen was in
the lead, but Kerr cut her margin short after reeling a birdie on the par-3, eighth hole. To counter off the opponent, Pettersen sank a 10-foot long birdie on the ninth hole to rebound into lead over Kerr.
Stepping into the back nine with a score of 1-up over Kerr, the Norwegian diva sank another birdie putt on the 15th hole to make her lead prominent. Once again, Kerr attacked and reeled a birdie at the 17th
hole to minimise the distance between her scores and that of Pettersen. The ladies once again met at the final hole, but this time Pettersen rose into lead after birdying the hole.
The winner raised her arms into the air and bowed down onto the ground to take a sigh of relief after playing four consecutive rounds in last two days. She stood back on her feet to enjoy the applause from the crowd, who had been
cheering for the winner of the title.
When asked to recapture the final moments of the round by the press, Pettersen said, “I know [Cristie] was going to birdie 17 so it came down to 18 [and] 18 has been awfully good to me. When you love what you do, you dig deep…especially
when it’s all on the line, every putt; every shot is on the line.”
The winner thanked the crowd for the support showered on her during the tournament and praised the course. She stated, “For me [the course] was perfect. The greens were rolling pure. A great thanks to all the staff… they’ve done
a fantastic job.”
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