Karrie Webb won her seventh Australian Ladies Masters title Sunday,
closing with a course-record 11-under 61 for a six-stroke victory.
Webb, a stroke ahead of defending champion Katherine Hull and
South Korea's Lee Bo-mee entering the final round, finished at
26-under 262 on the Royal Pines course to match the tournament
record she set in 1999.
Webb holed a 9-iron approach from about 110 yards for eagle
on the par-4 seventh and made a 30-foot putt on No. 18 for her
ninth birdie of the round. She broke the course record of 62 set
last year by Kristie Smith.
Hull and Lee shot 66s to tie for second in the event
sanctioned by Australian Ladies Professional Golf and the Ladies
European Tour.
Hull said Webb played "flawless golf."
"It was just rock solid," Hull said. "She was swinging it
well all day. I couldn't make a putt coming in, but it was just
absolutely clinic golf on Karrie's part."
South Korea's Seo Hee-kyung (66) was fourth at 19 under, and
compatriot Ryu So-yeon (70) followed at 15 under. American Amanda
Blumenherst, the leader after the first two rounds, shot a 70 to
tie for eighth, 13 strokes behind Webb.
Webb, who shot 64 on Saturday, had several threats to her
lead early on the back nine Sunday. She sank a 7-footer for par on
the par-3 11th after hitting her tee shot in the bunker. Hull
pulled within a stroke with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5
12th, but Webb matched her with a 10-footer, restoring her
two-stroke lead.
She took a three-stroke lead with four to play when she
birdied the 14th and Hull left her birdie attempt short.
The 35-year-old Webb has won seven of the 21 Australian
Masters held since 1990, and has played in 19 of them, giving her a
winning percentage at Royal Pines of 36 percent. Her first win came
in 1998, meaning she has won seven of the past 12.
Laura Davies, who won the New Zealand Women's Open last week
for her 73rd worldwide title, finished with a 71 to tie for 25th,
18 strokes behind Webb.
Davies will defend her Women's Australian Open title next
week at Commonwealth in Melbourne. She will be joined by Webb,
Blumenherst and Hull in another combined Australian and Ladies
European Tour event.
