Melissa
Brydon at RE/MAX World Long Drive
Championships
Inside
the Ropes - Our Girls on Tour
Webb
Joins The Greats in Hall of Fame
Ladies
at Chatswood play Saturday
Competition
Places
Visited
Discrimination
Issues
News
from around the world brought
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The RE/MAX World Long Drive
Championships
 In front of thousands of spectators teenager Melissa
Brydon has finished in 5th place at the RE/MAX
World Long Drive Championships in Mesquite Nevada.
This is the highest ever place by an Australian
and puts Australia firmly on the map in the long
drive world.
Melissa had easily made it through her elimination
rounds at the championships posting both the longest
and the second longest drives of the tournament.
Two time and now three time world champion Stacey
Shinnick from the US was the eventual winner, but
Melissa won the hearts of the crowd with a great
performace, a gracious disposition and a wonderful
smile. The finals will be broadcast world wide
via ESP.
Melissa has firmly stamped her place in long
drive as one of the longest lady hitters
on the planet.
She will be one to watch so lookout next year!
Earlier in the week Mark Bylsma, Ben Dyer (both
from Sydney) and Gary Linkder (from SA) hit extremely
well but just missed the final cut at the world
championships.
Together Melissa, Mark, Ben and Gary were the
strongest Australian team ever to challenge the
best from
around the world. All have proven themselves
worldclass. Here in Australia the long drive
community would
like to congratulate all of them.
Inside
the Ropes - Our Girls on
Tour(15 May 2006)
LPGA
· WEBB
CLAIMS MICHELOB ULTRA OPEN - ATOP MONEY LIST
(Williamsburg, Virginia)
Karrie
Webb has posted a wire-to-wire victory at
the rich Michelob Ultra Open at Kingsmill today,
further heralding her return to the top of
her
game, and moving to the top of the LPGA’s
ADT Money List.
Webb Posted rounds of 66-68-66-70 for a 14 under
par total and seven shot advantage over Hee-Won
Han and Lorena Ochoa. Ochoa and Webb have dominated
leaderboards the past month, clearly the in-form
players who have for the past three weeks been
paired together in the final group on Sunday.
The Australian began the day with a five shot
lead over Ochoa and American Pat Hurst but was
never challenged nor did she falter to allow any
player a chance to contend.
“I think I was nervous probably until the
16th hole today. I just haven't played with a
five shot lead for a long time and probably out
of everybody that was chasing me, Lorena was probably
the one that worried me the most as far as her
capability of posting a low number”.
It was a superb ball striking week for Webb,
one which gave her numerous birdie opportunities
and thanks to her new found putting confidence,
earned 21 birdies over the four rounds.
I think the last four weeks probably proved to
a lot of people and proved to myself as well,
that Kraft (Nabisco Championship) wasn't a fluke;
I didn't come out of no where, pop up, win that
and disappear again. I tread lightly knowing how-such
a fine line you can tread in this game, and if
you're on the wrong side of people asking questions
like - why aren't you playing good - and you don't
have any answer for it because it's so close.
Webb’s
US$330,000 reward takes her to the top of
the ADT Money List with $US 910,497 just
$15,000 ahead of Ochoa whose final hole bogey
cost her the number one ranking..
Nadina Light (T42) and Lindsey Wright (T60) the
next best of the six Australians in the field.
LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR
· BROOKY
WINS SPANISH OPEN
(Castellon, Spain)
New Zealander Lynnette Brooky twice broke the
course record on her way to winning the Open De
Espana Femenino (Ladies Spanish Open), her fourth
European Tour trophy, in Castellon yesterday.
Desperate to break a three year drought, and in
her final year with exempt status on the LET,
Brooky opened with a course record 66 which she
then bettered by one in round three, to open up
a three shot lead over French Solheim Cup player
Gwladys Nocera heading onto the final round
Looking to add to her previous victories at
the 1998 Austrian Open and back-to-back French
Open titles in 2002-2003, the experienced
Kiwi endured a fluctuating final round battle
with
Nocera. After extending her lead to five
strokes courtesy of three birdies in the first
ten holes,
Brooky faltered with a double bogey seven
against the Frenchwoman’s birdie, at the
11th hole, to see the lead cut to just two.
Nocera then gave Brooky some breathing space,
bogeying the 13th and 15th, and despite another
double bogey at the 17th Brooky rallied to birdie
the final hole and secure a three shot victory.
The four time NZ World Cup representative was
delighted with the win that guarantees her entry
into all major LET tournaments in 2006, along
with a three year exemption on the Tour.
“It’s been a long time waiting but
you know if I didn’t get a win this year,
I would lose my winner’s status. I would
have to work hard to keep my card so it’s
nice to know I can play the Tour for the next
thee years. At the beginning of the week I
said to my caddy Gerald, that I wanted to get
into
the Evian Masters (limited field event) and
we only had a small amount of time to do it.
I really
want to thank Gerald and my coach Di (Barnard)
for sticking with me and giving me the confidence
to do it.”
Shani
Waugh fired a brilliant final round 6 under
par 66 to jump into a tie for 15th place,
shared with Adelaide’s Anna Rawson whose
third round 67 saw her commence the final round
in
the top ten.
Twenty-one Australasians teed it up in Spain
with nine players making the halfway cut at 2
over par or better.
Next Week:
LPGA Tour: Sybase Classic presented by Lincoln
Mercury (US$ 1,100,000)
Ladies European Tour: Ladies Swiss Open (Euro
500,000)
LPGA of Japan: Chukyo TV Bridgestone Ladies
Open (JPY 700,000,000)
Duramed Futures Tour: No event scheduled
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Webb
Joins the Greats
2 June, 2005
Queensland’s Karrie
Webb will join an elite list of immortals next week when she becomes the
first Australian woman golfer admitted to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Only two other Australians,
five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson and two-time Open champion
Greg Norman have been afforded the same honour.
Webb achieved all but
one of the requirements necessary for Hall of Fame induction a couple
of years back but still had to have played on the US LPGA Tour for 10
years to achieve the final criteria.
She does that next week
when she tees it up against defending champion Annika Sorenstam and a
field of stars in the second women’s major of the year, the $US1.8m
McDonalds LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace,
Maryland.
Typically, Webb is wondering
what all the fuss is about and admitted she couldn’t really believe
it had been 10 years since she began playing on the US LPGA Tour.
“It’s a
funny thing but when you are still playing fulltime you tend not to look
back on what you’ve achieved - even when you have all the trophies
and photos to show for it,” Webb said.
“The thought of
joining all those other great names in the Hall of Fame is quite a humbling
feeling and hopefully there are still a few more chapters to write before
my career is done. ”
“I am particularly
proud at being the first Australian woman to be inducted. ”
Webb’s elevation
puts her alongside some of the truly great names in golf.
Just 22 women have been
inducted into the Hall of Fame and of those only Annika Sorenstam, Beth
Daniel, Juli Inkster and Betsy King are still active on the current LPGA
Tour.
Among the male members
are Walter Hagen, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen,
Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Harry Vardon and Seve
Ballesteros.
Webb won’t be
out of place either. She has 30 LPGA Tour victories to her credit and
last year passed the $US10m mark in career earnings.
In 2001 she became the
youngest of just six women to achieve the LPGA career Grand Slam when
she added the McDonalds LPGA Championship to earlier wins in the other
three majors, the Nabisco Championship, US Women’s Open and Du Maurier
Classic.
When the Women’s
British Open took over from the Du Maurier as the fourth women’s
major, Webb duly added that event to her resume with her third British
Open win in 2002.
Sorenstam might be defending
champion next week but Webb might just use her elevation into the Hall
of Fame as the perfect catalyst for another winning week.
For further information
telephone:
ALPG General Manager
- Warren Sevil (07) 5592-9343 or 0416-244-133.
ALPG Media Coordinator – Sandy Lonergan 0427 023 140
Webb’s LPGA record
is as follows:
LPGA Victories
(30*):
1995 Weetabix Women's British Open.*
1996 HEALTHSOUTH Inaugural, Sprint Titleholders Championship, SAFECO Classic,
ITT LPGA Tour Championship.
1997 Susan G. Komen International, Weetabix Women's British Open, SAFECO Classic.
1998 Australian Ladies Masters, City of Hope Myrtle Beach Classic.
1999 The Office Depot, Australian Ladies Masters, Standard Register PING, The
Mercury Titleholders Championship, Wegmans Rochester International, du Maurier
Classic.
2000 The Office Depot, Australian Ladies Masters, LPGA Takefuj Classic, The
Nabisco Championship, U.S. Women's Open, Oldsmobile Classic, AFLAC Champions
Presented by Southern Living.
2001 U.S. Women's Open, McDonald's LPGA Championship Presented by AIG, Tyco/ADT
Championship.
2002 Wegmans Rochester LPGA, Weetabix Women's British Open.
2003 John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic.
2004 Kellogg-Keebler Classic.
Unofficial
LPGA Victories (3):
2000 Women's World Cup Golf [with Rachel Hetherington (Teske)].
2001 Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge (with Dottie Pepper and Annika Sorenstam).
2003 ConAgra LPGA Skins Game.
LPGA Awards (7):Rolex Rookie of the Year (1), Rolex Player of the Year (2),
Vare Trophy (3).
1996 Rolex Rookie of the Year.
1997 Vare Trophy.
1999 Rolex Player of the Year, Vare Trophy.
2000 Rolex Player of the Year, Vare Trophy, Crowne Plaza Achievement Award.
* Won the 1995 Weetabix
Women's British Open prior to joining the LPGA Tour.
Lady Members
at Chatswood play first
round with the men.
7 Day membership is now
open to women at Chatswood
golf club and that means
playing rights on Saturday.
Seen
in the picture L to R are
Lady Members Alix Icklow,
Pam Maple and Susan McNally
- all 25 handicappers who
made their debut on Saturday
February 15.
They
were given a warm welcome
by the General Manager Rob
McLean - who took this photo,
the President Wilf Gay and
many of the male members
on the course.
The ladies are looking to
improve their Saturday field
over time to 8 players to
make up the competition.
9 ladies have elected to
become full members so far.
A great thing about the
changes to the Articles
of Association is that all
members now have voting
rights and the choice of
5 day, 6 day and 7 day membership
and playing rights.
Pam
from Chatswood
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Places
Visited
My
husband and I played and stayed
at Kangaroo Valley Golf & Country
Club over the June long weekend.
The course itself was in good
condition and had some challenging
holes. However, it took 5 hours
to play 18 holes. There were
no marshalls on the course patrolling
large groups and beginners.
A group of 4 beginners would
not call groups through, despite
being asked. We complained at
the Pro Shop on completion of
9 holes to no avail. If they
are going to call themselves
a Country Club, then there need
to have high standards.
I would not recommend staying
there - poor food and lack of
service in the restaurant; the
cabins okay. The most appealing
feature is the views; absolutely
stunning.
Elise
of Cremorne
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Discrimination
Issues
I
would be interested in a story
about any research Women In
Golf has done regarding equal
rights for women members of
golf clubs in particular voting
rights.
At
my club at the moment the constitution
has to be changed to comply
with anti discrimination laws,
we are constantly coming up
against a brick wall with regard
to giving women members the
right to vote on club issues.
Have you had any other comments
regarding these matters.
Thanks
Chris .
N.B.
I will post this question
in Forum
for general comment. If
you have any specific information
for Chris post it in Suggestions
and I will send it on
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