Championships - Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship 2009
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09.06.2009
Aedin burns the back 9 and takes the overnight lead at Royal St David's
Irish student Aedin Murphy from Carlow, the last player to finish in the big field, grabbed a two-stroke lead with a sparkling round of six-under-par 67. Aedin finished the first qualifying round after 7.30pm on a day when a blustery north-east wind over the Royal St David’s Golf Club links at Harlech in North Wales caused some problems.Aedin, a 20-year-old finance student at NUI Maynooth in County Kildare, said:
“This is the best round of golf I’ve ever had. I could hardly believe it myself!” said the player who won the Cork Scratch Cup earlier in the season but has had very little time for golf lately.
“I’ve been busy with university exams and golf has had to take a backseat. Maybe the break from competitive play helped,” said the Irish international who, astonishingly, had two bogeys in halves of 36 and 31.
She birdied the second, third and fourth with putts of 10 feet, two putts at a par-5, and a 20ft putt.
Aedin then bogeyed the sixth and ninth to turn in one-under-par 36.
But she caught fire again with an eagle 3 at the 12th where she pitched in from 30 feet.
That set the stage for a terrific finish – a two-putt birdie 4 at the 13th, a two-putt birdie 4 at the 15th and a rescue club – a cross between a four-iron and a four-wood – second shot to set up a 4ft birdie putt at the 17th.
She came home in five under par 31 to demote the two Spanish Arizona State University students who had been occupying the first and second places for a number of hours - Azahara Munoz from Malaga and Carlota Ciganda from the bull-run city of Pamplona.
Azahara, playing in the championship for the last time, made an excellent start in her bid to sign off in style.
The 21-year-old from Malaga, who graduated last month after completing a four-year golf scholarship at Arizona State University, shot a brilliant, bogey-free round of 69, four-under-par for the unique course set up by the LGU for the championship.
Azahara made light of a gusting wind that trouble many competitors and blew most outward halves up into the 40s, compared with the par of 35.
“I usually hit the ball straight, which is why I like playing links courses,” said Azahara.
“I don’t get in much trouble and that was really the way I played today. I had to pitch and putt to save par only twice – at the sixth and the 17th.
“I put my second into a bunker on the right at the sixth and had a really bad, awkward lie with my feet halfway up the side of the bunker. Not a nice stance at all and maybe I surprised myself that I got the ball out so well … to 3ft for me to save par.
“Then I went through the green with my approach at the 17th but it wasn’t difficult to save par with a little chip close.”
Azahara birdied the third with a 12ft putt and the long seventh (483yd) where she was home with a No 7 iron for her second downwind and two-putted.
Out in two-under-par 35, the lowest nine of the morning, Azahard moved to three under par with a birdie 3 from 10ft at the 415yd 10th where she was playing a wedge in for her second.
“I should really have scored lower than 69,” said Azahara, “because at two long holes after the turn, the 12th (434yd) and the 13th (444y) , I was playing a seven iron and a nine-iron downwind for my seconds and could not do better than get par 5s at both of them. I should have at least birdied them!”
The Spanish ace did get one more birdie, her fourth of the round, at the long 15th (439yd) where she got home with an eight-iron second and two-putted for a 4.
“I hit my driver really well and my putting was fine,” she said.
Winner of the Girls’ British open title at Lanark in 2004, Miss Munoz would love to complete a British double by winning the title at Harlech this week.
“It would be very nice but there is a long way to go and there are a lot of good players in the field,” she said.
“I have accepted an invitation to play in the US Women’s Open in early July and that will be my last event as an amateur before I turn professional.”
Last year, Azahara won the US women’s college championship but lost to Roseanne Niven in the quarter-finals of the British championship at North Berwick 12 months ago.
At the end of the 2008-2009 US college season, she was ranked No 3, one spot behind another Spanish player and Arizona State University student, Carlota Ciganda who is back in the British field after winning the championship at Alwoodley two years ago but did not defend it at North Berwick.
Azahara posted her score before noon and it was after 4pm before anyone threatened it – and the challenge was Carlota with a 70 .
Carlota had an uninspired outward half of par 37 – by her lofty standards – which included visits to two bunkers and a shank at the seventh. Birdies at the third and sixth were cancelled out by bogeys at the first and seventh.
She “lifted” her round with a three-under-par inward half of 33, highlighted by an eagle 3 at the 434yd 12th and a birdie 4 at the 444yf 13th.
“I hit a drive and a four iron to get on at the 12th and then holed a 30ft putt,” said Carlota who did not go to Arizona State University until January but has already made an impact on the US college circuit.
“At the 13th, I was able to get on with a nine-iron for my second and had two putts f”or the birdie. I had birdie chances at four of the last five holes but could not take them.”
Dunfermline teacher Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), suffering badly from hayfever, did well to keep her concentration and return a one-under-par 72 to share fourth place with 18-year=old Holly Clyburn (Woodhall Spa).
“I’ve taken hayfever tablets but they haven’t stopped my nose running all the way round,” said 26-year-old Louise who lost to Megan Briggs in the recent Scottish women’s closed championship final at Southerness.
Louise balanced bogeys at the first and ninth with birdies at the fifth and seventh in reaching the turn in level par 37. Coming home, seven pars and birdies at the long 13th and short 18th added up to 34.
The 64 leading players after Wednesday’s second qualifying round will go forward to the match-play stages which end on Saturday afternoon with an 18-hole final.
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