The Aramco Team Series – London finished in dramatic fashion as Bronte Law sank a 55-foot eagle putt from the front of the 18th green to clinch her second LET victory at Centurion Club on Saturday.
A shot behind the clubhouse leader, Georgia Hall, standing
on the 18th tee, Law needed a birdie to force a play-off but the 27-year-old
from Stockport, England, conjured a piece of magic as she drained a brilliant,
monster eagle putt which ran straight up the hill and into the hole for a round
of 71 to edge Hall on nine-under-par, sparking jubilant scenes around the
gallery.
“That’s why we play this game – for moments like that – and
in front of a home crowd, it doesn’t really get any better,” said Law. “Coming
down the stretch and holing a putt like that to win – that’s the epitome of the
sport that we play and why we do it; why we go through all the heartache, the
pain and everything is for moments like that.”
After two days of furnace-like conditions, the temperature
dropped by 10 degrees for the final day and the players had to contend with
much colder, northerly winds and rain showers.
Law started the third and final round a stroke behind Hayley
Davis and she was tied for the lead with the Englishwoman after three holes on
the final day.
Part of a trio of leaders after going out in level-par 37,
Law then dropped two behind Hall with a double-bogey on 13, where she became
entangled in the long grass. She said: “It wasn’t my best hole. I had to stay
mentally strong, set my head straight before I got on the next tee box. I did
that and hit the best shot I could’ve hit on that hole. I knew I had to battle.
It’s never over until it’s over. I guess that kind of showed at the end there.”
She hit back with birdies on 15 and 16 to get within one of
the lead and said: “I’m competitive, I want to win, so I won’t go down without
a fight. I think that’s a testament to today. I never know that I’m going to
end up with a win, but I will make sure I give it my all in order to give
myself a chance.”
The gritty player said that she knew what she had to do as
she lined up her putt on the 18th.
“I had a good look at that leader board, waiting for it to
scroll back up to the top so I could see what happened with Georgia. I kind of
figured she’d made birdie on 18 but then it confirmed it. I had a good read on
the putt but you never really say ‘Oh yeah, I knew that was going in’. I hit,
saw it tracking towards the end and it went in – so a sigh of relief at that
point.”
Sweden’s Linn Grant, meanwhile, who was the first woman to
win on the DP World Tour in the co-sanctioned Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed last
weekend, had posted the clubhouse lead at seven-under-par, after a brilliant
back nine of 30, which included six birdies in her last seven holes. The
Swedish rookie carded a 69 to end in solo third position on seven-under-par.
With her seventh top-10 finish from eight starts on the LET
so far this year, Grant moved to the top of the Race to Costa del Sol Ranking,
two days before her 23rd birthday.
In the team event, Team Garcia, comprising the quartet of
Nicole Garcia, Kelly Whaley, Madelene Stavnar and amateur Mia Baker defeated
Team Wikstrom – made up of Ursula Wikstrom, Julia Engström, Maria Hernandez and
amateur Laurent Dhaeyer, after their respective captains, Nicola Garcia and
Ursula Wikstrom, played off over the 18th hole at the conclusion of the final
day. The teams had tied on 27-under-par after two rounds and returned to the
course after the third round.
Wikstrom came unstuck after her ball ended under the lip of the fairway bunker and she took a double bogey, while Garcia made a winning par and celebrated on the green with a wiggle dance.
Garcia said: “I’m incredibly proud. Mia really helped us out
and that’s what this whole tournament is about, getting involved with the
amateurs and giving everybody the experience of a professional event. I’m
really proud – proud of my two pros that were with me. I had so much fun with
them. We all contributed and it couldn’t have gone better. All four girls
contributed equally. It was nice to see – it was good, everybody cheering on
each other and I think it was really nice for Mia to be a part of and for some
of her shots to count.”
Mia Baker said: “It has been so nice and the best thing is
they made me not feel stressed. I couldn’t have asked for anymore from them
–they were amazing.”
Garcia added: “I was pretty nervous (in the play-off) – not
as nervous as I thought I would be, but I did feel it on the approach shot
coming in. I was quite nervous going against Ursula because she’s a great
player and she hits it far, she’s consistent and she can putt unbelievably
well, so I was a little bit nervous but we got a break when her ball was
unfortunately on the lip in the bunker and she gave me a bit of a window there.
I think that was probably one of the only ways I’d be able to get past her. An
experience like this is always going to bring you closer to your peers that
you’ve played with.”
The Tour now moves on to the next event, which is the
Tipsport Czech Ladies Open at Beroun Golf Club.
**Source: LET GOLF
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