The Aussie assault never materialised but it was another drama-filled chapter of golf history written at the US Women’s Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Entering the final round well off the pace, the only two Australians to make the cut both posted rounds of 4-over 75 as Minjee Lee and Hannah Green finished tied for 54th and tied for 62nd respectively.
American Lexi Thompson seemed destined to win the tournament she first played as a 12-year-old when she held a five-stroke lead late on the front nine but a double-bogey at 11 and further dropped shots at 14, 17 and 18 meant that the 26-year-old missed out on the playoff altogether.
That was left to Yuka Saso and Nasa Hataoka to contest and it was Filipino Saso who clinched her maiden major championship, the 19-year-old winning on the third playoff hole and thus becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a golf major.
Bogeys at the second and sixth holes saw Minjee Lee make the turn at 2-over but after a birdie at the par-4 12th had back-to-back bogeys at 13 and 14 quelled any sense of a late surge up the leaderboard.
The exacting nature of The Olympic Club’s Lake Course made birdies difficult to come by for Green on the final day as she hit seven of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in her round of 4-over 75.
There were a host of top-20 finishes from Australians elsewhere around the globe this week.
Adam Scott tuned up for next week’s US Open with a strong showing at the Memorial Tournament to be tied for 16th, Lucas Herbert registering his best result in a PGA TOUR event as he finished tied for 18th at Muirfield Village.
Stephanie Kyriacou continued her promising start to her second season on the Ladies European Tour with a tie for 15th at the Jabra Ladies Open in France and Anthony Quayle enjoyed his best result on the Japan Golf Tour since December 2019 courtesy of a tie for 13th at the JGTC Mori Building Cup in Ibaraki.
It was a disappointing final day for Rod Pampling at the Champions Tour’s Principal Charity Classic in Iowa, falling from a share of second to a tie for 15th with a final round of 3-over 75.
Results
U.S. Women’s Open
The Olympic Club (Lake Course), San Francisco, California
T35 Lydia Ko 71-75-76-72—294 $US29,074
T54 Minjee Lee 73-73-77-75—298 $12,540
T62 Hannah Green 73-75-78-75—301 $11,430
MC Sarah Jane Smith 78-74—152
MC Emily Mahar (a) 77-75—152
PGA TOUR
the Memorial Tournament
Muirfield Village GC, Dublin, Ohio
T16 Adam Scott 74-68-71-73—286 $US155,775
T18 Lucas Herbert 71-69-71-76—287 $110,670
T57 Marc Leishman 69-75-75-76—295 $21,111
MC Cameron Smith 73-74—147
MC Matt Jones 76-73—149
MC Cam Davis 77-76—153
MC Danny Lee 80-75—155
Japan Golf Tour
JGTC Mori Building Cup
Shishido Hills Country Club (West Cse), Ibaraki
T13 Anthony Quayle 73-67-69-73—282 ¥2,820,000
T26 Andrew Evans 72-71-68-74—285 ¥1,170,000
T38 Dylan Perry 73-74-71-70—288 ¥795,000
T44 Brad Kennedy 71-75-72-72—290 ¥570,000
64 David Bransdon 73-72-85-80—310 ¥337,500
MC Michael Hendry 71-78—149
MC Adam Bland 73-80—153
MC Matthew Griffin 74-79—153
MC Scott Strange 75-78—153
MC Todd Sinnott 76-85—161
Challenge Tour
D+D REAL Czech Challenge
Golf & Spa Kunětická Hora, Dříteč, Czech Republic
T24 Daniel Hillier 71-69-70-69—279 €1,800
T50 Blake Windred 70-69-75-72—286 €806
Ladies European Tour
Jabra Ladies Open
Evian Resort Golf Club, Evian-les-Bains, France
T15 Stephanie Kyriacou 76-72-68—216 €3,400
T23 Whitney Hillier 70-76-72—218 €2,560
Korn Ferry Tour
REX Hospital Open
TPC at Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, North Carolina
T30 Cameron Percy 67-68-70-68—273 $US4,066
T55 Jamie Arnold 68-70-71-68—277 $2,698
MC Nick Voke 66-73—139
MC Harrison Endycott 71-69—140
MC Rhein Gibson 69-72—141
MC Brett Coletta 71-73—144
MC Curtis Luck 71-76—147
MC Ryan Ruffels 72-79—151
Champions Tour
Principal Charity Classic
Wakonda Club, Des Moines, Iowa
T15 Rod Pampling 67-67-75—209 $US30,525
T28 Stephen Leaney 70-72-71—213 $13,443
T67 David McKenzie 72-72-75—219 $1,813
73 John Senden 73-75-73—221 $1,295
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