(8 December 2009 – Ryde-Parramatta, NSW)
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Sarah Kemp from NSW, recorded an eagle at her last hole to notch her 6th ALPG Tour victory at today&aposs Lady Anne Funerals ALPG Pro-Am at the beautiful Ryde-Parramatta Golf Course in Sydney&aposs west. The eagle at the par-5 10th hole shot Kemp to a 5-under par round of 68, enough to secure victory by one shot over Denmark&aposs Mianne Bagger with the Queensland duo of Tamara Beckett and Jenny Sevil a further shot back in a tie for 3rd.
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Bagger, who played in the morning shotgun start, started on fire with four birdies in her opening seven holes. However, she could only manage one more birdie and bogey in her last 11 holes to settle for a round of 4-under par 68. She said, "it could have been anything after the start I got." It did give her the one shot lead over Sevil who posted five birdies and two bogeys in her round 70.
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The afternoon field started with the threat of extreme heat, however it didn&apost pan out to be too stifling. Kemp, who played the LPGA Tour in 2009 was the red-hot favourite before play started and she lived up to her billing with a fine round that included an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys. After starting on the 11th hole with a birdie, she remained at 1-under through her opening 8 holes. That quickly changed with birdies on the 1st, 2nd and 5th holes as she moved to 4-under par. It seemed as if she had blown her chance of winning when she made a bogey at her second last hole, the 9th, where she required a drop from the Lady Anne Funerals hearse parked behind the 1st tee.
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Knowing the morning scores, Kemp knew she needed a birdie at her last hole to force a playoff. That didn&apost look likely after she "hit a bad drive behind some trees on the right." What was to follow was an amazing two shots. Kemp said she had "a small gap to aim at from 175 out." She knocked it to 8-feet but still had work to do to roll in the downhiller. She calmly rolled that in for her eagle to collect the $3,000 winner&aposs cheque and add another title to her resume.
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The ALPG Tour continues at Branxton Golf Club on Saturday.
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Photo&aposs by Paul Melville – Sarah Kemp