PRO ROUNDUP
Paddison Holds On, Wins Victoria PGA
New Zealand’s Gareth Paddison stumbled to a final-round 74 at Forest Resort
Creswick, but it was good enough to hold
up for victory in Australia at the Victorian
PGA Championship.
Paddison took a three shot-lead into the
last day but had an eventful round that saw
him make four birdies, four bogeys and a
triple-bogey, leaving him 3-over par for the
day.
His 72-hole score of 7-under 277 was
one shot better than Victoria’s Leighton
Lyle, who shot 69 in the last round.
“It was a very patient round. I got a little
unlucky, I felt, on 13,” Paddison said. “I
wasn’t really doing much wrong. I felt that
after I made triple, well, I’m still one up but
proceeded to drop a shot on 15, then made
a bad swing on 16 and 18 and unfortunately
dropped two shots.
“It was a real dog fight in the end to
cross the finish line. I am just glad that I did
it and you know you can put it all down to
experience, I guess. It was really encourag-
ing sign that I can still finish off a tourna-
ment.”
Finishing tied for third were Marcus
Cain, Peter O’Malley, Andre Stolz and David
McKenzie on 5 under.
READ MORE RESULTS
BEKKER TOPS SUNSHINE TOUR
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND | Lindsey Wright,
who at one point in her professional career took a
break from the game because of poor play, reappeared Sunday in Christchurch to win the ISPS
Handa New Zealand Women’s Open.
The 32-year-old, who was born in England and
holds residencies in the U.S. and Australia, holed a
13-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Pegasus Golf
and Sports Club to break out of a tie with Australian
Jessica Speechley and American Alison Walshe to
claim the biggest title of her career.
Once ranked 12th in the world, Wright, who
played college golf at Pepperdine University in
California, posted rounds of 70-68-68 for a 54-hole
total of 10-under-par 206. She earned $30,000 for
the victory.
Speechley and Walshe were sitting in the clubhouse on 9 under while Wright was playing up No.
18, and a playoff appeared imminent until Wright
curled in her birdie putt to break the logjam.
Speechley closed with a tournament-low 7-un-
der 65 while Walshe shot 69 Sunday. They each
earned $16,800. Canadian veteran Lori Kane and
South Australia’s Stephanie Na tied for fourth, two
shots behind the winner on 208.
New Zealand’s top two amateurs, 14-year-old
Lydia Ko, ranked No. 1 in the world, and No. 2 Cecilia Cho, 17, turned in strong performances.
Ko shared the second-round lead after opening
rounds of 69-69, but a closing 74 left her in a tie for
17th. Cho posted 70-72-69 to share 12th place. Cho
announced that this would be her last event as an
amateur. She is returning to Korea this week with
plans to turn professional.
“I have watched Lydia play and she was good
this week,” Cho said. “It is good being out of the
spotlight but I am fine being in the spotlight as
well.
“It’s good to get some momentum before I turn
professional. It would have been nice to score lower
but it’s been a good tournament. I am going to miss
so much about New Zealand. I am going to miss
travelling with teams, but turning pro is a new chal-
lenge and I am excited about that.”
Wright admitted she was nervous coming down
the back nine.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s still sinking in,” she said.
“I putted really well all day and the last six holes I
was really nervous. I haven’t been in this position
for a while and I thought to myself ‘I can win this.’
“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.’ My caddie was
more shocked than I was, I think.”
