Date: June 05, 2012
Author: Omnisport

Aussies Abroad Weekly Wrap: Hull goes close

Star of the show: Katherine Hull sunk a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to secure second place behind American Stacey Lewis at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey. The Sydney-born golfer fired a final-round 68 and birdied three of the last four holes to claim $US140,000 in prize money and her second top-10 finish in under a month, following on from her ninth-place finish at the Sybase Match Play Championship. Breakout of the week: Alison Whitaker turned in a strong performance at the Ladies Open in Rotterdam, finishing the tournament even-par in a tie for 11th. The 2011 ALPG Rookie of the Year had not finished inside the top 25 at any of her events so far this year, and her best appearance prior to Rotterdam was a share of 37th place at the New Zealand Open in February. Shot of the week: Aaron Baddeley may have taken away $US167,400 in prize money from the Memorial Tournament for his eighth-place finish, but Greg Chalmers grabbed highlight of the week honours. Chalmers, who finished in a tie for 38th alongside compatriot Nick O&aposHern, sunk a 23-foot putt in the second round for birdie on the par-five 15th. Watch it below. Tweet of the week: @elkpga (Steve Elkington) – &aposDid Tiger Woods just hole that shot on 16?…… Or was that some Trick Photography?…… Holy cow!!!&apos What lies ahead: Brett Rumford will lead the Australian contingent at this week&aposs Nordea Masters in Sweden, a tournament that includes England&aposs Lee Westwood and Spain&aposs Sergio Garcia. Richard Green, Marcus Fraser, Andrew Dodt and Scott Strange are all set to feature at the European Tour event. Meanwhile, Rod Pampling, Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby will join O&aposHern at the US PGA Tour&aposs FedEx St. Jude Classic. The LPGA Tour moves to Pittsford, New York, this week for the second of its four majors, the Wegmans Championship, where Hull, Wendy Doolan, Sarah Kemp, Sarah-Jane Smith and Karrie Webb will bid to become the first Australian winner at the event since Webb prevailed in 2001. And Frances Bondad, Nikki Garrett, Stacey Keating, Rebecca Artis, Bree Arthur, Rachel Bailey, Stephanie Na and Alison Whitaker will tee it up in the Ladies Slovak Open on the LET. From the Couch: The Euro PGA Nordea Masters will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 at 10pm starting on Wednesday, while the US PGA St Jude Classic commences live on Friday at 5am. The LPGA&aposs Wegmans Championship will also be shown on Fox Sports, beginning Friday at 2am.