Date: February 02, 2008
Author: Brandon Cohen

Wright happy away from the limelight

Brandon Cohen at Kingston Heath, Sportal For someone ranked second behind Karrie Webb on the Australian women&aposs golf rankings, very little is known about Lindsey Wright – the 28-year-old from Albury who will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the MFS Australian Open. And that&aposs just the way she likes it. “Yes. I like to fly under the radar,” Wright said. “I would not want all the attention that the other players get. I like to come out and play golf and not fuss around, if that makes any sense. I really doesn&apost bother me.” A third consecutive round of 72 has Wright atop the leaderboard at three-under-par, one stroke ahead of defending champion Webb and South Korea&aposs Ji-Yai Shin. Ranked 61 in the world, Wright is coming off her best year on the ladies&apos tour where she finished fourth in the LPGA Championship and equal fifth in the world matchplay – beating former world No.1 Annika Sorenstam in the process – and believes that improvement will hold her in good stead for the final round. “Yes, for sure. I think I proved it a bit today, to myself anyway. Generally I come into the weekend after being so tense for the first two days that I am worn out mentally. Today I felt really relaxed. Maybe there were some first tee jitters and again coming down the 18th, but I felt really relaxed,” she said. But does she allow herself to think about winning the tournament? “It is a nice thought but there are still 18 tough holes to play. I&aposve hit the ball well and I&aposve hit it badly to good parts of the course, if that makes any sense. My misses have been good. I&aposd like to hit more greens tomorrow and make some putts.” A confident Webb, meanwhile, believes she is still the one to beat, having already won the Australian Open on three previous occasions (2000, 2002 and 2007). “I think there are players up there who have not won the Australian Open, and I have. I have experience at winning golf tournaments,” she said. “I don&apost know if that necessarily counts for too much but I know that I have a great chance to win.” “I have to do what I have been doing for the last few days and avoid the times when I switch off and make a few more putts.”