(7 September 2009 – Priddis, Alberta, Canada)
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Norway&aposs Suzann Pettersen has broken through for her first win of the season at the CN Canadian Women’s Open. It was also her first since the Honda LPGA Thailand in October 2007. The current World No.6 reeled off rounds of 65, 68, 66 and 70 for a 15-under par total 269 to leave the field in her wake with a victory margin of five shots. In a jam-packed leaderboard five players tied for second at 10-under par; Australia’s Karrie Webb, American’s Morgan Pressel and Angela Stanford and Japanese stars, Ai Miyazato and Momoko Ueda.
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rnBy the start of the final round, Pettersen had forged a five shot lead and just needed to play a steady round to take home the trophy. Stanford, her nearest challenger faltered early with a bogey, double-bogey stretch on holes 3 and 4, while Webb, who started the day 6 shots behind made up three shots on the front nine with a front side of 3-under par 32. However, that would be as close as anyone would come. Pettersen, whose putter was not working that well steadied the ship with a difficult two-putt on nine for par and then chipped in on the 11th for birdie. She followed that with two more birdies and the title was virtually hers.
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rnWebb’s run had come to an end as she made seven straight pars from the 6th hole, followed by a bogey at 13. Pettersen gave herself a few heart tremors with bogeys at the 13th and 14th but held it together with four straight pars to complete a well-deserved victory. In the 23 months since her last win she’s had 19 Top-10’s including six runner-up finishes. She was beaten in a playoff last week at the Safeway Classic in Oregon. The US$412,500.00 winner’s cheque saw her burst through the US$5million mark in career earnings and sees her rise to second on the Official Money List, just US$65,976.00 behind Cristie Kerr.
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rnIn her press conference she was asked about her run of 44 tournaments without a win, in which she replied, “This feels absolutely great. I&aposve been playing very good since 2007. Gave myself a lot of chances to win tournaments, and like I&aposve been saying, if you put yourself in position often enough, you&aposll figure out how to close the deal.”
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rnKarrie Webb, who won the Du Maurier as a Major when she last played this course said after her round, “I really appreciated the crowds this week. They treated me like a defending champion. That was fun. To have a chance today was – I didn&apost think I would get that close on the front nine but it just wasn&apost meant to be.”
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rnRachel Hetherington continued her return to form finishing in a tie for 28th at 1-under par. Sarah-Jane Smith made her first cut since the start of June, playing consistently all week to finish in a tie for 31st at even par. Lindsey Wright finished a further shot back in a tie for 33rd.
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rnThis week sees the US$1.8million P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship Presented by John Q. Hammons. ALPG will be represented by Michelle Ellis, Rachel Hetherington, Katherine Hull, Sarah Kemp, Sarah-Jane Smith and Lindsey Wright. With just three full-field events remaining, Kemp and Smith need to continue making money to avoid going back to Q-School in December. Kemp sits in 89th place with the Top-90 regaining their card, while Smith needs some good performances to climb up the rankings from her current 112th.
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Photo by Paul Melville – Suzann Pettersen