Global Golf Post - January 10, 2012

Will Collins and France’s Gary Stal were the only other competitors to break par, finishing at 2- and 1-under par, respectively.

Kraft, ranked No. 5 in the world, was in the final pairing with Sordet, who plays his college golf at Texas Tech University, and the top-ranked French amateur Stal, both of whom traded haymakers with Kraft for most of the day.

Sordet birdied Nos. 10, 11 and 12, picking up six shots on Kraft in just four holes. He gave one back at 14, making bogey on the par 3, and it was all tied up heading to the 15th tee.

Kraft went for the par- 5 15th in two, and after he hit his second shot well right and almost out of bounds, Sordet hammered a 3-wood onto the front of the green. Kraft’s ball was nestled in the midst of some trees and was forced to hit a tricky shot to a flag he could barely see. After spending a good deal of time negotiating his backswing, he floated one out of the rubbish into the center of the green. Although Sordet two-putted for birdie and claimed the lead once again, Kraft made a great par save.

Kraft found himself in a familiar position as he was in the U.S. Amateur, trailing by one with just a few holes remaining.

It didn’t take long for his experience to prevail. Kraft birdied 16 while Sordet made a rare mistake, bogeying the short par 4 after being in perfect position off the tee just 60 yards from the green – three-putting from the back of the green. Kraft made par on 17 and, after Sordet left his decisive effort short, the champ found himself on the

WHITSETT WINS INAUGURAL
PATRIOT ALL-AMERICAN INVITATIONAL

Cory Whitsett closed with a 5-under- par 66 to win the inaugural Patriot All-America Invitational on the Gold Course at The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Whitsett’s three-round total of 14-under 199 was three strokes better than Bobby Wyatt, his college roommate at Alabama.

Whitsett entered the round with a two-shot lead but Wyatt applied pressure early by pulling even with an eagle on the first hole. Both players birded the fourth hole. Whitsett moved back into the lead with a birdie at No. 5.

Wyatt responded with two straight birdies before a bogey at the eighth hole pulled the pair even at 11 under for the tournament. Whitsett reclaimed the lead for good after a birdie on No. 10 was paired with a Wyatt bogey. Birdies

on Nos. 12, 15 and 18 pushed Whitsett’s lead to its final margin of three shots.

Austin Cook and Julian Suri tied for third at 4 under while Joe David and Paul McConnell shared fifth place at 3-under 210. Johannes Veerman, Richy Werenski and Andrew Yun finished in a three-way tie for seventh with a total of 2-under 211. Evan Beck, Ben Klaus and Patrick Rodgers completed the top 10 at 1 under for the tournament.

Paula Reto cruised to a five-shot win over Thai teenager Moriya Jutanugarn on Jan. 2 to successfully defend her Dixie Amateur title at Heron Bay Golf Club. Reto shot 13-under 275 to become the first player in Dixie history to win back-to-back titles.

Jaye Marie Green, of Boca Raton, Fla., finished alone in third another shot back, while England’s Holly Clyburn was solo fourth. Tied for fifth at even-par 288 were Madison Opfer, of Plant City, Fla., and Madison Pressel, of Boca Raton, Fla.

“I consider Heron Bay my home course, so that helped a lot,” said Reto, who was born in South Africa but now makes her home in Coral Springs. “I just tried to stay focused and play my game; to play conservative, but good.

“Normally, my strength is my long
game,” said the 21-year-old Reto, a
junior at Purdue University who did not
start playing golf until 2005. “But this
week it was my putting that made the
difference. The greens here were great;
the whole course was in great shape.”
Diane Lang, of Weston, Fla., solidified
her reputation as one of the dominant
senior golfers in the world, edging Lisa
Schlesinger, of Laytonsville, Md., by two
shots to claim her third straight senior
women’s Dixie Amateur. Ivy Steinberg, of
Stouffville, Ont., finished third.