Lydia Ko fought back from a poor start to finish third.
(Photo by Stefan Postles/Getty Images)
South Korean star Jiyai Shin has held her nerve against a
fast finishing Yani Tseng and Kiwi amateur Lydia Ko to win the
Women's Australian Open golf tournament in Canberra.
Shin completed the four-round LPGA tournament at Royal
Canberra in 18-under 274, two shots clear of world No.1 Tseng
and four shots ahead of Ko (278).
Former world No.1 Shin was hot out of the gates today,
birdieing the first hole par 5 as her overnight co-leader Ko
double-bogeyed.
A bogey on the second hole by 15-year-old Ko then delivered
Shin a sizeable four-stroke advantage.
But Ko fought back, birdieing consecutive holes while Shin
slipped a shot with a bogey on the fifth after running into
bunker trouble.
Shin then dropped another stroke on the 12th to fall equal
with Ko and a blistering Tseng soon made up her eight-stroke
overnight deficit to make it a three-way tie.
Under pressure and deep in the rough to the left of the 14th
green, Shin then chipped in for a birdie to snare the lead.
She followed that up with another birdie the next hole to all
but seize the championship.
Queenslander Katherine Hull-Kirk was the best of the
Australians, finishing equal 8th on 281.
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