Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Suzann Pettersen, Record Breaker

<i>GOLFPUNK<i> diarist Suzann Pettersen was declared the winner of the Ladies Swiss Open on Sunday,  after the fourth and final round of the competition was cancelled due to a water logged course at Golf Gerre Losone.

Tournament organisers took the decision to reduce the event from 72 to 54 holes at 11am on Sunday as many of the fairways and greens were flooded after heavy rainfall, making the course unplayable.

Andy Lott, director of tournament operations, said: “Unfortunately we find the course is unplayable. We have too much water out there to make it safe for people to play and to be fair.”

South Korea's Amy Yang won silver and Gwladys Nocera from France placed third.

Cheer up Suzann, you just won.

Pettersen, the world number three, led the way with rounds of 67, 63 and 64 to earn the first prize of €78,500. She dedicated her prize to a 24-year-old family friend who passed away on Monday.

After opening with a 67 and equalling the then course record with a 63 on Friday, the 27-year-old from Oslo added a 64 today to move six shots clear of the field on 22 under par at Golf Gerre Losone. The previous record of 18 under was set by Australia's Karrie Webb at the 1997 Weetabix Women's British Open.

The world number three said: "This course is all about getting the ball in play and from there trying to be very aggressive."
Pettersen added: "Eight under of course is a great round but it still feels like I left a couple out there. It felt more work than yesterday."

South Korean teenager Amy Yang, who has played with Pettersen in every round, recorded a hole-in-one at the 145-yard seventh hole, winning an Omega watch.

The 18-year-old, who won the 2006 ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia as a 16-year-old amateur, shot 65 to lie in outright second on 16 under.

On her ace, Yang said: "I hit a soft seven iron but I couldn't see it because of the bushes.

"When I discovered it was in I thought 'Wow!'"

France's Gwladys Nocera is third on 15 under with England's Laura Davies four shots further back. Nocera rocketed up the leaderboard by lowering her own course record from two years ago with a superb 62.




5/27/2008 11:10:05 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #  Comments [1] 

6/2/2008 3:17:18 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)
With Annika Sorenstam choosing to walk away from the professional circuit at the end of the season it is about time someone like Suzann Peterson stepped up to the plate. There is no better opportunity than this to make a mark. While the entire world is talking about the much touted duel between Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, Peterson could slip in under the radar with no real weight of expectations on her and make a mark. She needs to ensure the spotlight is on her.

She had a fabulous season last year but unfortunately for her Lorena Ochoa had an even better season. But five wins in a season is no mean thing. Although she has had no win this season she finished second in the only major of the season so far. To be fair to her, not many other than Lorena or Annika have won a tournament this year. If she can just crank it up she will be in the mix of things and could easily outplay both Lorena and Annika. She has the game but can she deliver? I think she can.
Andy Brown |andyAT NOSPAMgolfswingsecretsrevealed dot com
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