Kemp and Lewis lead Australian Open

BY Bruce Young | LPGA Tour | 2012 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open | Round One | 09 Feb 2012

Australian Sarah Kemp and American Stacy Lewis took full advantage of the stunning morning conditions at Royal Melbourne on day one of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, the pair compiling rounds of four under par 69 to lead by one over tournament favourite and world number one, Yani Tseng, Paraguayan Julieta Granada and American Brittany Lincicome.

Tseng had also reached 4 under when she birdied her 17th hole of the day but three putted the last. She has made a solid enough start however and one that has kept her very much on the minds of the leaders.

Kemp was one of Australia’s outstanding amateurs before turning professional and although she has done well, perhaps at this stage she has not reached the heights many had expected of her.

“I guess when I had a really good amateur career I won everything Webbie (Karrie Webb) did when she was young. I was branded the next Webbie. I got my card and played two years in Europe. But Webbie is one in a million. That kind of career is pretty spectacular. If I could have a quarter of that, I’d be stoked. I did not try to put too much pressure on myself. I’d say that my best years are still to come.

She was obviously, though, delighted with her start. “I hit the ball really well. I have been hitting the ball well lately, Kemp said. “I did not hole that many putts last week but I hit the ball pretty similar to today. The conditions were really good this morning. I guess I took advantage of it.”

“I love it (the course). I can see why it is Australia’s best golf course. It is a privilege to have the first women’s professional golf tournament here. It is awesome.

Kemp nominated her second to the 7th as perhaps her most satisfying shot of the day. “I hit a really good four iron into seven. I hit it to about two feet. I think it nearly went in. That was pretty cool. You would take four there every day.”

“I have my full card (in America) except for the limited events for the top 60 on the money list. Everything else I’ll get in to. I also have my European Tour card. I’ll play a little bit there. Last year was just inconsistent. I’d have a good week and then a bad week, a good week and a bad week. I have been working on trying to keep things the same each day.”

Lewis was another to sing the praises of the Royal Melbourne layout. “I fell in love with place the first time I played it this week,” said the 26 year old. “You have to be so creative and hit so many different shots. I love that.”

Lewis, who made her break through victory on the LPGA Tour a major when she won the Kraft Nabisco in 2011, dropped a shot early after starting her round at the 10th but birdied four of six holes between her third and eight holes before three putting her 9th (the 18th of the composite course)

She did not drop any further shots and with birdies at her 15th and 17th holes she had made a very solid start.

“Early on it was about as easy as it could play,” responded Lewis when asked as to comment on the benign conditions today. “Towards the end there, when the wind started blowing, on 9 and 18, the greens were really firm. It played easy this morning. I don’t want to say it was easy but there were definitely holes you could make birdie on. There are some though where you just have to take par and move on.”

Lewis revealed that she had received some expert advice on just how to handle the subtleties of Royal Melbourne. “I play at Greg Norman’s course in Florida, the Medallist. You can hit a lot of similar shots in practice there. We hit a lot of bump and runs up to the greens. That was good practice. We got some tips from him. He said to be below the hole and if we were above the hole make sure the next one was below it. And always take the shorter club if you are in between. I used that today.”

When asked to pick a key point in the round she suggested a long putt at the 8th (her 17th) was important for momentum. “I made a bad swing there. I hit my drive way down there on the par five. I only had about 165 to the front and hit it into the really short bunker and made about a 30-footer for birdie. It gives me some momentum going into tomorrow. I hit a bad iron shot and a bad bunker shot and still made birdie.”

Tseng was upset to have bogeyed the last but happy with her start overall. “It was disappointing to finish with a three-putt on the last hole. It is probably the toughest hole on the course. But I am still very happy shooting three under today. That’s three under on an amazing golf course. I am really excited and can’t wait to go out and challenge again.”

Tseng’s second shot to the 18th hole (her 9th hole of the day) was the shot that stood out for her. From the right hand first cut of rough she attacked a back right pin position (see gallery) and her bravery led to a birdie.

“It was probably the shot of the day. My caddie and I were thinking about going to the left side (from the tee) because it was a better angle to the pin. I was thinking of hitting a normal shot onto the fairway and make a high fade for the second shot and it could be okay. I had a good lie so I was pretty lucky. I aimed at the TV tower and faded a little bit. It was perfect.”

Tseng was wearing an arm brace for an issue she is having with tendonitis in her right elbow. It is an old injury and one that bothers her in certain conditions.

“It has been like this for four years, always playing under injury. It is not me. I think lots of players have a back or a hip problem or some injury. This happened and it never went away. I do a lot of ultrasound, I always ice after I play. It helps. Today we had good weather. It was not hurting as much. If I hit it bad, at impact it is hurting. It hurts more when it is cold and when the ground is very hard.”

The afternoon field had just a little breeze to deal with but it was not one that made a lot of difference. Melissa Reid, who finished runner-up to Tseng in this event last year, joined the leaders at the top of the board when she birdied the 12th hole but bogeys at the 13th and 14th saw her slip down the list. She eventually finished with a round of two under 71.

Another to feature from the afternoon group was long hitting Brittany Lincicome. Despite a double bogey at her 5th hole, Lincicome was round in 70 which proved to be the best of the afternoon rounds.

While the above outlines those who played well on day one there were some less positive stories and some from the more fancied players. Suzann Pettersen the world number two was round in 80 and will need a round of perhaps two under to have any chance of making the cut tomorrow.

Karrie Webb, a multiple winner of the event, was round in 75 although she was not too fazed by the effort. “I did not drive it great, said Webb. “Unfortunately Royal Melbourne does this, the tee shots I hit poorly, I really paid the penalty. That started to get better as the round went on. I did not putt consistently well for the whole round. When I hit good putts, the speed was off or the line was slightly off. I’m not too disappointed with how I played. It could have been better. With the swing changes, I saw some good things out there and hopefully I’ll be a little more comfortable starting tomorrow."

Webb was the beneficiary of one of the more unusual encounters seen during a tournament. As she stood over a putt on the 13th hole she was waiting for a nearby disturbance to die down. As she was preparing to putt a spectator yelled out to her that she had not replaced her marked correctly. Webb had inadvertently moved her marker to avoid the line of her playing partner but had placed it back towards her rather than away from her.

“He actually saved me a couple of shots,” added Webb. “Yani asked me to move my marker. When I went to move it back, I told myself I had to move it towards me. I just blanked. I don’t even remember moving it the other way but I guess I did. There were about 15 people standing on the other side of the hole and I was just about to pull the trigger and he spoke up.

“It really caught me off guard. In the end he saved me a two-shot penalty…It was pretty courageous of him. There was a group of people and they were talking. I was hoping that they’d settle down before I got over the putt. They were all discussing that I had moved it the wrong way.

Day one is done and dusted and if the opening day is anything to go by then the rest of the week is sure to be a success. The weather may not continue to be so kind but most feel the decision to bring this great event to this outstanding layout has proven a good one thus far.

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