Webb opens the door at Aussie

BY Liz White | ALPG Tour | 2009 Women's Australian Open | Round Two | 13 Feb 2009

Korea’s Chang-Hee Lee will take a two shot buffer into the third day of the Australian Open after overnight leader, Karrie Webb, struggled around the Metropolitan Course with a 2 over 75.

Lee, who plies her trade on the Korean LPGA, was near perfect on the testing layout, hitting 16 greens in regulation to record a 3 under 70.

NSW professional Jane Kim played with Lee today and neatly summed up the round.

“Her tee shots are good and her iron shots are good and her putting is good,” she said.

“If she was in a bunker she got up and down. It was all good.”

Kim interpreted for Lee after her round and said that the Korean was not about to get ahead of herself.

“She said she has not finished playing yet. She does not want to think too much about whether she is leading.”

Overnight leader Webb was unable to repeat her first round heroics of 7 under 66 but at just two shots back, is hardly panicking.

“I think just keep what I am doing, obviously I would like to play the par fives better tomorrow and then go from there,” she said.

“But it was difficult out there today, the greens were night and day that’s how hard they were today compared to how we played them yesterday.

“It was quite a big adjustment to play the course today compared to the way we did yesterday.”

England’s Georgina Simpson had the round of the day, a 5 under 68 to be T2nd with Webb and Spain’s Tania Elosegui. Simpson was more relieved to have just made the weekend after a caddy error saw her miss the cut at last week’s Ladies Masters.

The 33-year-old incurred a two-stroke penalty after her young 15 -year-old caddy raked an opponent’s footprints in the bunker before Simpson had hit her ball out of the same trap. She subsequently missed the cut by an agonising one stroke.

“I was sort of a bit unhappy for that and gutted for him, so it is all a bit of a shame really because I was playing well,” she said.

“To come in and not just make the cut, to go that extra bit is very pleasing. A bit of satisfaction for last week really.”

Simpson has worked hard in the off season to get extra length of the tee and while she believes that has contributed to her improved showing, she promptly thanked fellow touring pro Elizabeth Esterl who gave her a putting tip on Tuesday.

“She tells me the last time she gave a tip to Tina Fisher she went and won,” Simpson said.

But in true classic Yorkshire style she wasn’t about to divulge what the tip was.

“I can’t tell you, I am not doing that, but it is working so far.”

Metropolitan has produced plenty of surprises this week and one of them is 17-year-old HSC student, Justine Lee.

After an even par round yesterday Lee backed it up with a 3 under 70 today to be in T 7th with a host of players, including Joanne Mills and Rebecca Flood.

“My main goal this week was to make the cut. It feels great. I just hope I won’t fall tomorrow.”

Kingston Heath trainee pro Emma Bennett also sits on 3 under.

After a stellar amateur career, Bennett admits she was jaded and almost quit the game at the end of 2007.

“It was either give it up all together or do the traineeship but I’d worked too hard to give it all up,” she said.

“I was pretty burnt out to tell you the honest truth.”

Her 2 under round today was very solid, particularly after backing up from a marvellous 1 under 72 in yesterday’s howling wind.

Bennett says she had a goal to finish top 20 but says after her opening two days she may well reassess things.

“If I can keep working on that maybe a top 15 could be a good result.”

Also aiming for a good finish is Rebecca Flood who is in line to win the leading amateur honours after the four-tournament ALPG season.

“I am just playing solid golf, not really doing anything wrong,” she said.

She credits her move back up to Queensland, working closely with her coach Luke Edwin, as the key to her improvement.

“Luke’s always there, I see him on a consistent basis and my game isn’t getting off track.”

Last weeks Masters winner, Katherine Hull had a one over 74 today and sits in T41st on four over 150 with her playing partner, Britain’s Laura Davies.

The cut was set at 8 over which meant Kristie Smith and Stephanie Na just scraped in while LPGA player Sarah Kemp missed by one shot. It was a disappointing end to Kemp’s season after she posted top tens at the NSW Open, NZ Open and last week’s Masters.

She will remain home for a few weeks before heading to Mexico to play in her first LPGA event of the year, the Mastercard Classic that starts on March 20.