Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord has been crowned as the women’s champion of the 2015 Oates Victorian Open thanks to an impressive 13-under par throughout the four days of action.
The 28-year-old ironically battled four bogeys in the final round however still managed to claim the title ahead of equal runners-up Su Oh (Victoria) and Holly Clyburn (England) on 10-under par while Shelly Shin (NSW) was the most successful amateur finishing at three-under par.
Intriguingly Skarpnord would be joined in the winner’s circle by her fiancé Richard Green moments later.
“This month has been unreal, first we got engaged then we moved into our new house here at Thirteenth Beach,” said Skarpnord.
“Richard shoots an albatross on Wednesday and here we are today as winners, I just can’t believe it.”
She added, “I think I’ll have to have a good night tonight and wake up tomorrow to realise what has just happened.”
When asked if she had postponed her celebrations to cheer on her fiancé, Skarpnord revealed that she had a mixed reaction.
“I’m always nervous when he plays, I think I prefer watching his number on the internet than his action live,” giggled Skarpnord.
“But I have to congratulate my gorgeous (Green) for his win as well today.”
However Skarpnord’s gratitude did not stop there.
“The Victorian government, Premier Daniel Andrews and the City of Geelong have been great supporters and this tournament would not have happened if not for David Birch from Oates,” said Skarpnord.
Skarpnord also became the first international player to claim the title since the tournament was moved to the Thirteenth Beach Golf links in 2013.
“We’ve had some great courses, they’re in pretty great shape and as most of you know Greeny and I think they’re pretty damn good so we live here now.”
Ironically, this was the first tournament the star couple had both played under the sponsorship of the Oates cleaning company.
Later in the evening Green revealed just how proud he was of his partner.
“I’ve seen an immense amount of work by her after she suffered a wrist injury and she’s a strong player and hopefully she can have a great year too,” said Green.
“It was very hard not to be there when she captured the title but I couldn’t warm down, fortunately that helped me stay focused.”
By: Alex Tigani (Golf Victoria media)