Date: April 19, 2008
Author:

Srixon Australian Amateur Championships – LIVE SEMI FINALS

local Adelaide time CLICK HERE for results from previous rounds MEN&aposS SEMI FINALS – Royal Adelaide GC, South Australia Mouse-over a flag to view player&aposs state or nationality

SEED

MATCH

STATE SCORE THRU

8

KEATING, Stacey

South Australia

1up

F

29

HILLIER, Whitney

Western Australia

F

——

———————————

——

——

——

2

SMITH, Kristie

Western Australia

2/1

F

30

SMITH, Kerry

England

F

SEED

MATCH

STATE SCORE THRU

8

KEATING, Stacey

South Australia

1up

F

29

HILLIER, Whitney

Western Australia

F

——

———————————

——

——

——

2

SMITH, Kristie

Western Australia

2/1

F

30

SMITH, Kerry

England

F

16:45: That concludes play from Royal Adelaide Golf Club. Make sure you return tomorrow for the exciting 36-hole men&aposs and women&aposs finales. Both finals will be covered live and up to the minute from the moment the first ball is struck until the last ball drops in the hole. MICHAEL FOSTER (WA) v ANDERS KRISTIANSEN (NOR) from 8:00am KRISTIE SMITH (WA) v STACEY KEATING (VIC) from 8:10am 16:32: The players showed some nerves as both women were forced into positions whereby they need to chip out on to the fairway. Both landed on the green for three as Keating held on to clinch a narrow victory and a spot in the final against Kristie Smith. 16:27: Keating is 1up heading down 18. 16:12: In the midst of all this excitement, Whitney Hillier has been mounting a comeback on the back nine. She&aposs recently picked up two holes to trali by just one with two to play. 16:05: Kristie Smith has one foot in tomorrow&aposs final after winning the 16th to go 2up. 15:51: The New Zealander steps up and really has a crack. The ball probably missed the pin left by about five or six inches and carried five metres past the hole. Kristiansen opted to putt from off the edge of the green and put it to three feet. To Lee&aposs credit, he holed a tricky putt to make the Norwegian jump one more hurdle, but Kristiansen held his nerve to seal a spot in the final against Michael Foster. 15:48: Unfortunately for Lee, his ball carries the green and ends up 10 metres over the back in some ugly looking rough. I don&apost know if he gave it too much or selected the wrong club, but he&aposll probably need to chip this in or hope Anders melts down. 15:46: The Norwegian plays first and misses to the left. But it&aposs a pretty good miss… pin high and only a small chip remains, but the door is open here for Lee. 15:44: Kristiansen will be playing his second shot from the middle of the fairway, about 120 metres out. Lee is in the first cut of rough on the right hand side, about 10 metres in front of him. Meanwhile, Kristie Smith&aposs lead has been cut to one… 15:41: Danny Lee steps on to the 18th tee knowing that anything less than a win on this hole and he will be eliminated. Both players have a strong following on the course and we should know the outcome to this classic very soon. 15:38: Whitney Hillier just took on the trees at 13 and lost. The West Australian found trouble off the tee and was unable to recover, thus handing Keating a huge 3up advantage. 15:31: Like Keating just managed to do, Kristie Smith has restored her 2up lead on the 13th hole. 15:29: Stacey Keating goes back to 2up after the 12th hole while Kristiansen nurses his slender lead safely through the 16th. At most, Lee has just two chances left to square this one up. 15:13: Michael Foster is the first player to book his place in the final with a 3/2 win over Dale Whitnell. It was extremely tight early but the West Australian applied the clamps after the turn to keep Australia&aposs hopes alive. 15:08: All of a sudden a couple of players strike back to within one. Kerry Smith is nipping at the heels of Kristie Smith while Danny Lee awakes from his slumber to apply some heat on Kristiansen who now leads by just one. 15:04: Dale Whitnell might be excused for feeling a little hard done by as he birdies the 15th but watches as Foster does exactly the same to produce that dreaded D-word. That&aposs right folks, it&aposs now dormie 3 for Foster who is inches away from the Srixon Men&aposs Australian Amateur Final. 14:54: Meanwhile at a little stadium just down the road, the Adelaide Crows have kicked the first goal against Fremantle for those that are interested! Why anyone would want to be there when we have such spectacular golf on show at Royal Adelaide, I don&apost know! 14:52: Michael Foster converts a birdie chance on 14 to take a dominant 3up lead. 14:46: It&aposs 7:15am in Norway and if any of Anders Kristiansen&aposs family or friends have got up early on Saturday morning to follow his progress they are well and truly being rewarded! Having already erased a large deficit, the Norwegian has created a 2up lead with six to play. Can he finish it? 14:44: As if reading this summary, Kerry Smith draws closer to Kristie as she collects a win on the 9th hole. Perhaps this will give her some confidence and momentum for a charge on the second nine. 14:39: Michael Foster moves one step closer to a berth in the final as he goes 2up with a par on the 13th. Nervy times now for the AIS/Golf Australia National Squad member who will look to consolidate this lead. 14:36: Gee… match play golf is a mysterious beast! One moment you are cruising with a 3up lead and the next, you&aposre trailing! That&aposs exactly the predicament Lee finds himself in now as Kristiansen seizes the upper hand with a par on the 11th. 14:33: I should add that it&aposs another glorious day here in Adelaide. It&aposs a little windier than previous days, but the sun is out, there is not a cloud in the sky and the players must really be loving it out there. 14:28: The eighth hole is halved by the Smith/Smith group and Kristie remains 3up. Kerry will need to start making inroads soon if she has any plans to try and defeat the fancied Australian. 14:26: However just moments later, Whitnell strikes back and again the margin is back to one as an exciting finish looms. 14:17: Good news for Australia as Michael Foster goes 2up against Dale Whitnell. Stacey Keating also takes the lead against Whitney Hillier and then extends it to two on the following hole with a birdie. 14:15: Kristie Smith continues to impress as she extends her lead to three. Kerry Smith doesn&apost seem to be able to do anything to stop the Aussie charge who some might thing is avenging the defeat she suffered at the hands of her namesake in last week&aposs Ashes event in Melbourne. 14:14: And just like that the match is square! Kristiansen looked down and out an hour ago but is now back on level pegging with Danny Lee who must be wondering where his lead of three evaporated. 14:03: Super effort from the Norwegian who draws to within just one of Danny Lee! Now this contest is looking very much like the morning quarter-final. Can Lee put his foot on the gas again? Or will Kristiansen manage to draw level? 13:56:Stacey Keating makes her first mark on the semi-final as she seizes a hole back from Whitney Hillier to square the match after four. 13:55: After playing cat and mouse for the first nine, Foster energes with a slight edge after gaining a shot at the par-five ninth. That should give the West Australian a boost as they head through the turn. 13:45: Kristiansen claws another hole back from Lee to cut the margin to two. Meanwhile Hillier and Keating halve the third with bogey fours and Hillier remains 1up. 13:41: How will Kerry Smith respond? Not good it seems… Kristie Smith wins her third consecutive hole to take an early 2up lead. Great competitive spirit on show from the West Australia who has her dad Wayne Smith on the bag. 13:34: The semi-final stage seems to be bringing out the best as Hillier and Keating halve the second with birdie threes. 13:30: Kristie Smith moves into her first lead of the match after taking out two consecutive holes. How will Kerry Smith respond to the pressure being applied? 13:28: Lee manages to win the fifth hole with a par-four to retore his three hole buffer. 13:21: Whitney Hillier birdies the first to start her match against Stacey Keating on the front foot. 13:24:As soon as he manages to take the lead, Whitnell gives it straight back, conceding the par-three seventh hole to Foster. The match is back to square. 13:19: The deadlock is finally broken in the first men&aposs semi-final as Dale Whitnell birdies the sixth to go 1up over Foster. 13:17: Kristie Smith bounces back in superb fashion, winning the second hole and taking the match back to square. 13:15: Mr. Kristiansen is on the board! The Norwegian hits back to claim the fourth and cut Lee&aposs lead to two. 13:10: Whitney Hillier and Stacey Keating stride to the first tee as the second women&aposs semi final gets underway. Hillier booked her berth with a win over Justine Lee this morning while Keating knocked off the number one seed, stroke play winner and local favourite Stephanie Na! This should be a cracking match between two of Australia&aposs most promising youngsters. 13:06: Foster and Whitnell continue their stalemate. All square through five. 13:04: Is there any stopping Danny Lee? A third consecutive birdie has given him a 3up lead over Kristiansen. This is starting to look a lot like his quarter-final match against Griffin where he was 5up through six… but we know how close that finished! 13:01: It&aposs a dream start for Kerry Smith who goes 1up on the first hole. 12:53: Kristie Smith continues her conquest to claim the Srixon Australian Amateur against namesake Kerry Smith of England. The West Australian took out Ebony Heard 2up, but was made to work for the win. Kerry meanwhile was up against English compatriot Rachel Jennings. The pair were evenly matched but it was Smith who progressed to set up a meeting with the top remaining seed. 12:52: Lee doubles his advantage with another birdie on the second hole to go 2up while Foster and Whitnell cannot be split through four holes of their semi-final. The women will step up to the tee shortly. 12:41: A key characteristic of Danny Lee&aposs wins this week have been his impressive starts. This match is no exception as the Kiwi birdies the first to edge out to a 1up lead over his Scandanavian opponent. 12:34: Foster and Whitnell continue to find themselves very evenly matched as they go through the second hole neck and neck. 12:30: Danny Lee and Anders Kristiansen step up to the first tee for the second of the men&aposs semi-finals after both surviving dramatic quarter-finals this morning. Lee was 5up over Matthew Griffin through six before the Aussie hit back to level the match by 14. The pair battled through the back nine before the Kiwi prevailed 1up. Kristiansen also held a large lead against Neil Chaudhuri but was pushed all the way to 18 by the plucky Englishman who lost 1down. 12:20: Both men start with par fours in this first men&aposs semi-final. 12:10: We are underway in the first of the men&aposs semi finals. Michael Foster of Western Australia is taking on Englishman Dale Whitnall and is the final Australian left standing in the draw!