(13 January 2012 – Moss Vale, NSW)
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It was always going to take something special to win the Moss Vale Golf Club Ladies Classic Presented by Corban Automotive, Wollongong, and New Zealand&aposs Cathryn Bristow certainly produced that with a final round of 8-under par 65. She entered the final day tied for the lead on 5-under par with a group of sixteen players all at 1-under or better. In the end, she blew her rivals away, posting eight birdies and a bogey to record a four shot victory over the Australian pair of Sarah Kemp and Nikki Campbell and Frenchwoman Joanna Klatten.
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Teeing off in the final group of the Pro-Am format, Bristow posted a birdie at the first hole and followed that up with two more birdies before she had reached the 6th tee. The left-hander then stumbled slightly with a bogey at the par-3 6th hole. However, she quickly got that shot back with a birdie at the 7th, made a couple of pars to finish the front nine in 3-under par.
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A steady start to the back nine saw her remain at 3-under until she reached the 12th tee where her round really took off. From there she made five birdies in her last seven holes to reach the score of 8-under par 65 for a championship equalling round. Her score of 13-under par for the two days bettered last year’s score of 11-under by Katherine Hull and it will certainly ensure her a start in the Gold Coast RACV Australian Ladies Masters in the first week of February. It will also go a long way to securing her a start at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne the following week.
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With just Bristow’s group to come in, it looked a lot like a playoff, with three world class players sitting on 9-under par. However, it was Bristow’s tournament, and she later said, “It’s probably the best two rounds I’ve ever put together. It felt effortless; I kept finding the rights spots off the drive and put myself in good positions on the greens to make a few putts.”
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While the field may have lacked the quantity due to the Ladies European Tour qualifying school, there was no lack of quality with the likes of World No. 74 Nikki Campbell and LPGA players Sarah Kemp, Sarah-Jane Smith and Danielle Downey in the field. Bristow made mention of the confidence that gives her, saying, “It may have been a relatively small field, but there was a lot of quality in this field, so I gain a lot of confidence out of this win. It’s good preparation for the next five weeks and I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing against some of the world’s best players in our Major events.”
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It was her first win on the ALPG Tour after also collecting her first professional win the US secondary tour midway through the year. She also mentioned her brother Peter who caddied for her, saying, “Pete was a great help, and I had great playing partners for two days who kept it light out there and we had a lot of fun.”
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The ALPG Tour continues next week with the ActewAGL Royal Canberra Ladies Classic at the famed Royal Canberra Golf Club.
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