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Australia's Stacey Keating, won the 2012 Lacoste Ladies Open de France yesterday, and received the trophy with her caddie/boyfriend, Darren Peters, looking on.
European Ryder Cup Captain José María Olazábal and former world number one Lorena Ochoa... who has inspired the Aussie golfer for years... were also present.
For the 26-year-old Keating this win makes two in a row, after her very recent maiden victory at the LET's Tenerife Open de Espana. Today's final round was a nail-biter to the end:
Australian Stacey Keating came from three shots behind overnight leader Diana Luna of Italy to capture the Lacoste Ladies Open de France at Chantaco Golf Club on Sunday.
The 26-year-old from Cressy, Victoria, recorded her second straight win on the Ladies European Tour after she earned her maiden title at the Tenerife Ladies Open de Espana a fortnight previously.
Playing in the penultimate group, Keating was quick out of the blocks with four birdies in a row from the second to catch Luna. The Italian then made four straight birdies from the fifth to get to 15 under but dropped a shot on 10, opening the door again.
After Keating bogeyed the 13th, Luna was two clear of the Australian but Keating birdied 14, 16 and 17 to move one ahead with a hole to play. Keating thought she’d blown it when she bogeyed 18, but then watched Luna do the same, missing a five foot par putt which would have forced a play-off. Heartbroken Luna was forced to settle for her third straight second place finish in three years at the same tournament.
Meanwhile, Keating described the feeling as ‘surreal.’
Stacey Keating's back-to-back wins are remarkable in themselves, but the fact that she was able to achieve them just weeks after her disappointing disqualification at the British Open (for accidentally signing an incorrect scorecard) is a testament to her resiliency.
you mean a non-asia finally won something ?
ReplyDeleteactually the far east can amass as many majors and lesser tournaments as they can BUT is there any group more media shy ?
the robo-swings on the men's tour is quite boring enough for the typical spectator so will someone, anyone, please, bring some life into the LPGA tour
thank you
frankdftliquordalesoFLA33316
I think that's changing a bit Frank. Yes, up till now the Asian ladies probably did seem a bit "robotic" to western fans but I think that was largely due language barriers, and cultural distinctions that dictated a more formal behavior, both factors seem to have faded quite a bit in recent years with our increasingly global and connected lifestyle. Players like Jiyai Shin and Ai Miyazato, not to mention Yani Tseng, are great examples of that.
ReplyDeleteAs far as getting more US players on leaderboards that's a bit more difficult as it will require not only a stronger golf development infrastructure for but also a societal change in the way our families look at parenting and supporting girls who show early talent-interest in golf.
The guy who does Gangnum Style sure isn't media shy. Maybe the Korean ladies need a little of that. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it was great for the tournament to Lorena Ochoa in the field and inspiring for golfers like Keating but unfortunately it doesn't sound like misses the being a tour player at all, so we'll probably not see an actual Ochoa comeback quest any time soon. :\
ReplyDeletei always thought the asian women were to GOLF like the east germans were to the OLYMPICs (back a few decades) - their star prodigys were culled at very early ages and did nothing else but focus on the singularity of their appointed mission - to win tournaments / gold medals
ReplyDeletei don't know if american collegiate womens golf organizations can produce any better well rounded players than are currently coming out of college - no, for american women i would say the caliber of competition is high, higher than the relative compensation is, comparatively, and endorsement MONEY is the main factor there IMHO
as for ochoa, she is family-oriented, and although her spouse runs an airline, i can't imagine that traveling with a new family not being a main factor in not playing more golf
unless a kardashian or lohan picks up a club things will be ho-hum boring i'm afraid
Do you suppose Hank Haney will be able to lure either of those two onto a golf course after he gets finished with Michael Phelps? I doubt it. :\
ReplyDeleteashgolf,
ReplyDeleteactually quite a few A-LIST celebrities attend the CALM BAKE in cali, and based on my info, many many more would get themselves in front of the camera with a better game, BUT that didn't deter JACK LEMON over forty odd years of trying
with what some of them get caught doing in public i don't see how a bad golf swing can hurt their image
and BILL MURRAY has made a cottage industry out of it
i can imagine some ALL women foursomes that would prove interesting - CONDI RICE, paris hilton, BELEN MOZO, MICHELLE wie
frankdftliquordalesoFLA33316
I absolutely LOVE her lime green golf shirt! It's so hard to find good womens golf apparel, so does anyone know where she got that?
ReplyDelete