(28 June 2010 – Lisbon, Portugal)
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It has taken 13 years, but Karen Lunn is back in the winner&aposs circle after a superb final round of 7-under par 65 secured her the Portugal Ladies Open on Sunday. She made a birdie on the last hole to complete a one stroke victory over England’s Trish Johnson and Denmark’s Iben Tinning. England’s Florentyna Parker finished in outright 4th while Australia’s Frances Bondad made an unfortunate double-bogey at the 18th hole to slip down the leaderboard to tie for 8th.
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The final day was all about Lunn! She has been on Tour for 26 years now and last won an official LET event in 1997 when she won both the Amex Tour Players’ Classic and Ladies French Open. These wins came four years after she won the 1993 Weetabix Women’s British Open and the Order of Merit that same year. A total of eight titles before this, she has won a couple of Pro-Ams on the ALPG Tour in the meantime, which she regularly supports.
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So, it would seem that it was time for Lunn, who had been playing well in recent times, finishing outright 4th at the Unicredit Ladies German Open last month. She started the day three shots behind Italy’s Stefania Croce but quickly closed that gap with a flying start; sinking a 30-footer for eagle at the 1st and draining another putt from 10-feet on the 2nd. Lunn took the outright lead with back-to-back birdies on the 4th and 5th holes, 5-under through five holes. Another birdie at the 9th and she had played the outward nine in 6-under par 30 and held a four shot lead.
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It seemed that the leading players in the final groups had caught wind of Lunn’s dramatic rise but none could keep pace with her outstanding play. Another player of experience, Johnson (a regular Solheim Cup player), playing in the group in front of Lunn was the player looking most likely to challenge the Australian. After a front nine of 3-under par, Johnson got to within one shot of Lunn after three birdies in four holes from the 10th.
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After 15 holes, Lunn sat on 10-under par, Johnson was on 9-under and Tinning had also held it together to be at 9-under after 14. Lunn then took a decisive advantage with a birdie at the 16th hole, however Johnson wasn’t giving up that easily. She applied enormous pressure with birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to reach 11-under par and the clubhouse lead. Lunn saw Johnson’s birdie up ahead of her on the 18th and knew a birdie would most likely secure the title. Her second shot found the greenside trap of which she got up-and-down for birdie and reached the 12-under mark. Only an eagle by Tinning behind her could force a playoff. Alas, Tinning could only make birdie and the title was Lunn’s.
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After her round Lunn summed up her day, saying, “It was a real roller coaster ride. I was nervous but I knew that I was playing well. It’s been a long time and 1997 was my last official win in an LET event. I’ve won a couple of smaller events on the Australian Tour. I’ve always felt I could win but you do wonder if it’s ever going to happen again.”
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She credited Karrie Webb, as an inspiration, whom she partnered in the Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup in Spain in April. The pair tied for second place behind Sweden after a three-hole sudden death play-off. She added, “I think I took a lot away from the Nations Cup, playing with Karrie. I played really well that week and she was really encouraging. She said to me, ‘You should take a lot away from this week and go and play well. You should be winning tournaments,’ and that was great. I think I took a lot of confidence from that and I’m not sure I’d be standing here if I didn’t have that experience.”
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While it was Lunn who took the headlines, it was another good week for the learning curves of some of Australia’s young-guns. Frances Bondad, playing with Lunn got within one shot of the leader after 14 holes. It was the second time in two weeks Bondad has been in contention. Unfortunately a bogey on the 15th and a double-bogey on the 18th saw her slip to 8th but it was another great week for a very talented young lady who looks like she’s finding her feet out on Tour. Kristie Smith and Rebecca Coakley both posted solid weeks finishing in a tie for 11th at 6-under par. Smith, who has been in contention a number of times in Europe already this year will be ruing her play on the second hole at the Campo Real course, where she took double-bogey 6 on each of the three tournament days. Dana Lacey-Johnson again finished well with a final round 3-under par 69 to finish in a tie for 23rd while Rebecca Flood (T43) and Lynnette Brooky (52nd) also made the cut.
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