Karrie Webb will complete the six-strong Aussie assault on the Women’s British Open tomorrow after her clubs finally showed up in England.
Webb, whose clubs were misplaced somewhere between Chicago and London by British Airways overnight on Sunday, had ruled out playing with a borrowed set of clubs at Woburn Golf Club from tomorrow.
“What’s the point (in playing without my clubs)?” Webb told media after BA told her it had no tracking information on both her clubs and other luggage.
But much to the seven-time major champion’s relief, her unique combination of Bridgestone, Ping and Callaway clubs turned up today and she’s good to go for the year’s fourth major championship.
Golf Channel reported Webb lost clubs about a decade ago when they didn’t turn up at Los Angeles Airport and she suspected they’d been stolen on that occasion.
So after being restricted to walking Woburn for a couple of days, Webb will hurriedly complete her course scouting on Wednesday.
Webb’s three International Crown teammates – Minjee Lee, Su Oh and Rebecca Artis – are also in this week’s field and will be joined by former Victorian Open champion Stacey Keating and in-form Queenslander Sarah Jane Smith.
It’s the last key women’s tournament before the Olympic break with the resumption of the LPGA Tour coming at the Canadian Open on August 25, while the year’s final major, the Evian Championship is in France in mid-September.
Australian tee times (British time) for the first round of the Women’s British Open:
6.30am: Minjee Lee with Beatriz Recari and Sei Young Kim
8.31am: Stacey Keating with Becky Morgan and In-Kyung Kim
9.26am: Sarah Jane Smith with Alena Sharp and Mi Jung Hir
9.59am: Su Oh with Luna Sobron (a) and MariaJo Uribe
11.26am: Karrie Webb with Melissa Reid and Asuka Kashiwabara
1.16pm: Rebecca Artis with Hee Young Park and Jacqui Concolino