(The Metropolitan Golf Club, Melbourne)
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Karrie Webb took advantage of some relatively benign conditions in the morning at The Metropolitan Golf Club to post a sublime 7-under par 66 and take a three shot advantage in the second round of the Women’s Australian Open. In a tie for second place are Spain’s Tania Elosegui and Korea&aposs Chang-Hee Lee who fired 4-under par 69&aposs. Scotland’s Clare Queen, Spain&aposs Beatriz Recari and Korea&aposs Hye Youn Kim are a tie for fourth on 3-under par 70.
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rnIt could have been better for Webb given the fact that she three-putted the par-3 7th hole after lipping out from long range. She commented later that she, “switched off on the little one. It was about two feet.”
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rnAfter starting her round on the 10th, Webb got off to a quick start with a birdie at the par-3 11th hole before a hat trick of birdies from the 14th saw her move quickly to 4-under par. A brace of birdies after the turn took her to 6-under and seemingly putting herself in control of the tournament with three par 5’s on the way home.
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rnBirdies at the 4th and 6th holes moved Webb to 8-under par before the disappointing three-putt bogey on the 7th. Later she said she, “made up for it” where she “managed to make a great par at the last.” This was her tee shot that she drove left in the trees and basically had no swing, before a brilliant ‘manufactured’ hook shot left her with two putts for par.
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rnSpain’s Elosegui reaped the benefit of her practise in Melbourne the week before the Masters, when she played Royal Melbourne, where her caddie John Anderson is a member. Her round included five birdies and one birdie and she credited her solid putting and driving. “I didn’t hit any brilliant iron shots putt I drove the ball solidly,” she said.
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rnNorwegian Marianne Skarpnord and promising Australian amateur Rebecca Flood are a shot further back on 2-under par 71. This follows her finish as the leading amateur at both the LG Bing Lee NSW Women’s Open in January and last week’s ANZ Ladies Masters.
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Photo: Karrie Webb by Brendan Malone
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