Webb defeated in Ginn Tribute playoff
IN: News | LPGA | Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika (2008) | Round Four | by Bruce Young | 02 Jun 2008
Karrie Webb missed a putt of less than three feet at the first extra playoff hole at the Ginn Tribute in South Carolina today and in doing so presented Korea’s Seon Hwa Lee with her third LPGA Tour victory. That’s the bad news for the Australian but the good news for Webb is that she has found form at the right time with the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, the second LPGA major of the year, starting this Thursday.
Lee had come from a massive nine shots behind third round leader, Sophie Gustafson, going into the final round to win, a feat that leaves her just one shot behind the comeback final round record of ten shots by Annika Sorenstam and Mickey Wright.
Webb, Lee and the improving Song-Hee Kim had emerged as potential threats to Gustafson, when the Swede began to self destruct midway through her final round. Webb, who had been closest to her, kept pace in the early rush on day four matching the two early birdies by the leader. Gustafson though began to struggle and by the turn was at 1 over for the day and just four ahead of Webb.
A double at the 10th by the leader saw the event change complexion completely and Gustafson, who has not won in nearly five years on the LPGA Tour, began to struggle as Webb, Lee, Kim and leading rookie Na-Yeon Choi began to gather her in.
Choi and Gustafson dropped out of the race when they struggled over the back nine and so it would be Webb, Lee and Kim who would fight it out. Lee was playing in the group ahead with Kim and hit a hybrid wood to 25 feet at the 72nd hole and made it to move to 14 under par and into the lead outright, one ahead of Webb.
Webb found the fairway from the tee at the 72nd hole and hit her approach to 12 feet and made it to join Lee in a playoff. The playoff lasted only one hole with Webb almost inexplicably missing from less than three feet after both had found the green with their approaches and Lee had two putted for par.
Kim finished third one shot behind the playoff and would rue her triple bogey at the 8th which effectively cost her victory.
“Actually I feel really great the last three days, and I just tried to do my best last day,” said Lee later. “I hit really solid tee shot, and especially like the short game is really good this week, so I made I made two chip shots yesterday and today, and there’s lots of luck. I feel comfortable this week, and I got a lot of confidence in my short game and my putter, putting, so that’s it.”
Understandably Webb was not quite as buoyant.
“I’ll probably wake up tomorrow a little more encouraged than I feel right now,” said Webb in her post tournament press conference. “Obviously, you know, to put myself in there as a chance to win is more than maybe I thought at the start of the week. You know, I did have two really good days of putting, and I’ve just got to get back to being more relaxed on the greens like I was the first few days and, you know, obviously, I can carry a lot of it into next week.”
The other Australians in the field that made the cut were Rachel Hetherington 32nd and Lindsey Wright 49th.
The LPGA Tour now moves to Havre de Grace in Maryland for this week’s McDonald’s LPGA Championship.
