Date: May 29, 2012 Author: Dejan Kalinic, Omnisport
Aussies Abroad Weekly Wrap: Arthur shines
Star of the show: As Australia&aposs men struggled, the women made an impact on the Ladies European Tour. Bree Arthur was the standout performer at the Ladies German Open, finishing tied for fourth at nine under, just four shots off eventual winner Anne-Lise Caudal. Arthur shot a brilliant seven-under 65 in the third round but could only back it up with a 73 to miss out on an even better finish. Nikki Garrett and Rebecca Artis ended up tied for 17th at five under. Breakout of the week: Nikki Campbell collected her second top-10 finish of the season on the LPGA of Japan. The Canada-born Australian finished just three shots off the pace at the Yonex Ladies. Campbell carded consistent rounds of 70, 70 and 71 to end up in outright seventh position in a strong display. Shot of the week: This perfect 22-foot putt from Aaron Baddeley earned him a birdie on the par-three 16th in the first round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational. He finished the PGA Tour tournament with consecutive three-over 73s. Tweet of the week: Aron Price, who was out of action this week with the Nationwide Tour on a one-week break… @aronpricePGA: “Top 5 man crushes in no particular order. Dave Grohl, Jason Statham, Roger Federer, Darrell Waltrip, David Beckham. Maybe Jimmie Johnson HM.” What lies ahead: The Aussie men will be eager to bounce back on the PGA Tour this week, with several heading to Ohio for the Memorial Tournament. World top 20 players Jason Day and Adam Scott will lead the way, while Baddeley and John Senden will also be looking to challenge the likes of defending champion Steve Stricker. Others set to compete include Geoff Ogilvy, Marc Leishman, Greg Chalmers, Stuart Appleby, Nick O&aposHern and Robert Allenby. On the European Tour, Marcus Fraser, Brett Rumford and Richard Green lead the Australian contingent set to compete at the Wales Open. They will be joined by Andrew Dodt, Matthew Zions, Scott Hend and Scott Strange. The three-round ShopRite LPGA Classic starts in New Jersey on Friday, with Karrie Webb, Katherine Hull, Sarah Kemp, Sarah-Jane Smith and Wendy Doolan all set to compete. And a host of Australian women will head to the Ladies European Tour&aposs Deloitte Ladies Open, including Arthur, Garrett and Artis. Karen Lunn, Frances Bondad, Stacey Keating, Rachel Bailey, Stephanie Na and Alison Whitaker are also headed for the Netherlands. From the Couch: Coverage of the opening round of the Wales Open begins on Fox Sports 1 from 11.30pm on Thursday. The Memorial Tournament will be on Fox Sports 1 from 5am on Friday, while the ShopRite LPGA Classic will be shown on the same channel from 3.30am on Saturday.