(Branxton, NSW)
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Rachel Bailey from Faulconbridge in the NSW Blue Mountains, secured her second title of the season at the Xstrata Coal Branxton Golf Club Pro-Am on Sunday. Her two round total of 2-under par 142 saw her claim a one shot victory over England’s Laura Davies and Canada’s Nancy Harvey.
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rnBailey began the tournament with a 2-under par 70 on the 9-hole layout situated in the Upper Hunter Valley region. This meant she started the final round in a tie for 3rd place with Harvey, two shots behind Ireland’s Rebecca Coakley (68) and Davies (69).
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rnThe final round was played in contrasting conditions to the first day with hot weather and increasingly firmer greens. There was also a strong breeze to contend with which made finding the small greens all the more difficult.
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rnAfter eight holes, it appeared to be a two-way battle between Davies and Harvey who had moved to 5-under and 4-under par respectively. Overnight leader Coakley had a disastrous start and couldn’t recover to finish with a 7-over par 79. Bailey, herself had struggled around the front nine dropping three shots to fall to 1-over par. She said later, "After nine holes I assumed I had no chance to win as I was four shots behind Nancy. I thought I was out of the tournament so I just wanted to keep going and try to get points for the Club Car Series as I had a good chance in that."
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rnThe tournament changed considerably when Davies took a double bogey on the par-3 9th hole and followed that with a bogey on the 10th to go back to 2-under par. Ahead of her, Harvey held a two-shot lead until she found the water on the tough par-3 11th hole and ended up with a triple bogey six to fall back to 1-under par. This brought the likes of Bailey, Joanne Mills and Shani Waugh back into the tournament.
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rnAfter fourteen holes, Harvey, Bailey and Davies had all steadied to be tied for the lead at 1-under par. An exciting finish was in store for the large crowds who were all hoping for a Laura Davies victory. After they all made birdie at the short par-5 17th, it all came down to the final hole, a 140m par-3.
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rnWhile Harvey couldn’t get up-and-down from pin-high right, Bailey made a safe two-putt par to finish at 2-under par. Davies needed par to force a playoff but, as she did on the 9th hole in the morning, left her tee shot short. Her chip was long and she couldn’t manage to drain the 12-footer, leaving Bailey with the winning score. It was a lucratiive day for her as she collected $3,600 for her win to go with the $7,500 she collected for winning the Club Car Series. It also moved her to the top of the Order of Merit at the completion of the Pro-Am events. In her press conference, Bailey said, "I&aposm thrilled with the win, especially with the likes of Laura Davies, Nancy, Shani and Joanne in the field."
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