(25 November 2011 – Sydney, NSW)
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It was the second day in a row that an ALPG Member claimed their first victory as a professional. This time it was Queensland&aposs Bree Arthur who fired a superb round of 4-under par 70 to win the Power Ford Castle Hill Country Club ALPG Pro-Am. While a round of 70 would be a good score on any given day around the demanding Castle Hill layout, the fact that Arthur did so in consistent rain that bordered on ridiculous made her round even more remarkable. She was followed home by Sarah Kemp who finished runner-up for the second day in row, one shot behind Arthur, while England&aposs Joanne Oliver was a further shot back on 2-under par.
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With rain around and an already waterlogged course, organisers were in two minds when play was due to start at 7.15am. In the end the decision was made to delay the morning field and combine the whole field into the afternoon. In the end, it was a miracle that the tournament got finished and all credit must go to the course staff for making the course even playable.
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Arthur started her round in the shotgun format at the 8th hole and picked up a birdie right off the bat. However, she quickly gave that shot back with a bogey at the 10th. Three birdies in a row from the 12th hole got her round &aposback on track&apos before she again made a bogey on a par 5 at the 15th hole. A par at the next and through nine holes Arthur was 2-under par.
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A magnificent birdie at the 152m par-3 17th hole saw her reach 3-under par and in the conditions she said she felt confident that her score could contend. She would have felt more confident after an eagle at the difficult par-5 saw her reach 5-under par. An unfortunate bogey at her last hole on the 7th saw her drop back to 4-under but it was enough for the victory.
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After her round she said the key to her round was "getting off to a good start." She also commented, "With the conditions as they were, I knew it was important to take one hole at a time and stay patient. It was really difficult out there but I remained patient and it paid off."
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She was also very appreciative of her caddy and good friend Tristan, saying, "It was a great day to have a caddy and we had a really good time out there. That was one of the keys to my round also. Tristan helped me the whole way round."
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Click here for the final scores.