(RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast)
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Rising Australian star Katherine Hull challenged the field to “bring it on” ahead of this week&aposs ANZ Ladies Masters at RACV Royal Pines Resort in Australia.
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rnThe 26-year old Queenslander backed up that statement by shooting 68 in swirling winds on Saturday and taking a three shot lead into the final day.
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rnHull&aposs round included six birdies and two bogeys. She finished with birdies on the last two holes to reach a three-round total of 12-under-par. Fellow Queenslander Tamie Durdin finished the day in second on nine-under-par after a 66, with American Mollie Fankhauser a shot further back in third after a 68.
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rn"It wasn&apost easy out there but I stayed patient and finished with two nice birdies. I am really happy about the way it went," said Hull, who was the leading Australian player on the US LPGA Tour last year, ranked 13th on the money list with more than US $1 million in earnings.
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rnAfter battling away for four years in America, Hull secured her maiden LPGA title at the Canadian Women&aposs Open in Ottawa last year. Now she wants to prove herself on home soil. "I believe I can win but there are 18 holes out there that are still to be played and some great names on the leader board," she said. "You can&apost take it for granted. You&aposve just got to focus on your own game and hopefully it&aposs enough at the end."
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rnHull has been a runner-up at both of the events she has played on the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour over the last fortnight, the LG Bing Lee New South Wales Women&aposs Open and the New Zealand Open. Now she has the chance to go one better but despite looking relaxed she said: "I won&apost be relaxing at all."
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rnDurdin said she expected to feel nervous on the final day but would learn from her experiences at Royal Pines last year. The 31-year-old, who plays most of her golf in Japan, started the last round tied for the lead but shot a nightmare 76 on the final day to end up in joint 23rd place.
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rn"It&aposs almost déjà vu," Durdin said. "Last year I felt that I was really ready to go. I felt that it was time to step up and win really. Maybe I put too much emphasis on that."
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rnDurdin, a renowned underachiever in Australian women&aposs golf, has been working with sports psychologist Jonah Oliver who is based at Queensland University and now feels better equipped to deal with feeling the butterflies that she says are inevitable.
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rn"I&aposm going to feel nervous tomorrow. I&aposm going to be anxious tomorrow and yes; I&aposm probably going to hit some bad shots tomorrow. I&aposm just going to accept that and go into tomorrow just knowing that and it helps," she said.
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rnThe reigning Ricoh Women&aposs British Open champion Ji-Yai Shin from South Korea shared fourth place with compatriot So Yeon Ryu, first round co-leader Becky Brewerton and Australians Kristie Smith and Sarah Kemp.
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rnShin, the world No.5, shot a third round of 72, despite having been hospitalised for two hours on Friday evening. She had complained of feeling numb in her hands and was fed by a drip. Shin&aposs caddie Dean Hearden said: "If Ji-Yai makes more than one three-putt you know there is something wrong and it is not her golf. She battled like a trooper."
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rnShin added: "It was a little bit of a tough day but tomorrow I will try my best."
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rnIt was a tough day for the second round leader, Australian Nikki Campbell, who slipped back into a share of 15th position on four-under after a 78.
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rnAustralia&aposs Karrie Webb shot 69 and finished the day tied with Campbell. Sitting eight shots off the lead, for Webb a seventh Masters trophy remains within reach but a long-shot.