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ASTRID OVER THE MOON
Astrid Vayson de Pradenne said it was the best day of her life after winning the Jabra Ladies Open at Evian Resort Golf Course in Evian-les-Bains , France . The 32-yearold Frenchwoman defeated German Karolin Lampert with a birdie on the �rst extra hole , the par-4 18th , to earn a winner ’ s exemption to the Ladies European Tour and qualify for two Majors , the Ricoh Women ’ s British Open and The Evian Championship . The Jabra Ladies Open was the �rst ‘ Dual Ranking ’ event on the Ladies European Tour and the LET Access Series and offered two quali�cation spots to The Evian . By �nishing second , Lampert also sealed her place in the �fth Major in September . It was just the second cut made by Vayson de Pradenne in a Ladies European Tour event , although she had twice �nished as a runner-up on the LET Access Series , at the 2017 Castellum Open and 2016 Azores Open . “ I came here as an outsider because I have a very small career money ,” she said . “ I have some earnings from one tournament in 2014 on the Ladies European Tour . As an outsider and just being focused , making it to the end and winning a play-off with a birdie on the 18th hole with 100 or 200 people watching and a loud crowd , they will be very special memories for me . “ You try so hard for years and years and nothing really happens , being so close . Now this is real and I still feel like I ’ m dreaming . I ’ m like a bird and I ’ m not on the ground yet . I can ’ t believe I ’ m going to play in The Evian Championship and the Ricoh Women ’ s British Open at nearly 33 years old . I mean , come on ! Anybody can try . You just have to persevere , no matter what some people say . You have to truly believe in your dreams and make it happen .” Finland ’ s Ursula Wikstrom began the day with a two-stroke lead and Felicity Johnson took the advantage after four holes , but Vayson de Pradenne became the outright leader after nine and from there it became a duel down the stretch with Lampert . The charismatic Frenchwoman , who only picked up golf at the age of 15 and reduced her handicap to scratch in two years , made a big birdie putt on the 17th green to get to seven-under-par and left her uphill birdie putt in the jaws on 18 in regulation play . Lampert , playing in the next group , then missed putts wide of the hole on holes 17 and 18 to tie on seven-under and the pair returned to the 18th tee on a glorious day at the Evian Resort . Vayson de Pradenne had the honour and the chance to pile on the pressure , but both players split the fairway before playing
excellent approach shots into the green . After Lampert ’ s downhill putt again edged left of the hole , Vayson de Pradenne made her downhill putt from eight feet before falling to her knees and then being sprayed in champagne . Explaining why she had unusually recruited caddie Eric Black on the back of the 15th green , she said : “ I started the �rst 15 holes on my own . I ’ m a Christian , so I prayed a lot . It was over and over . It was almost becoming like a mantra , to keep the mind quiet . After 15 , I saw Eric Black in the crowd and I said , ‘ do you think you can join me for the last part of the day ?’ and I ’ m just glad he said yes . It made a difference and without a good caddie by my side I probably wouldn ’ t have won today . I like the way things are just connected and Eric could have been having a pint , but he was there on that green . The little things worked well so I could win today .” When asked how she would celebrate the win , the part-time physiotherapist explained : “ I ’ m from Chateau-neuf-de-pap , but I don ’ t tend to drink a lot of red wine , so I ’ ll probably drink some champagne and maybe some white as well .” Sweden ’ s Cajsa Persson �red a �nal round of 64 to �nish in third place on �ve-under-par , followed by Johnson in fourth place and rookie Cloe Frankish with Wikstrom in joint �fth .
Park Wins KPMG Women ’ s PGA Championship
ung Hyun Park doesn ’ t show much emotion . But the Korean showed the world the wide range of emotions she has been experiencing , much like the roller coaster she ’ s been riding this season . The sixth ranked player in the world outlasted a three-person playoff , defeating So Yeon Ryu and Nasa Hataoka on the second extra hole to win her second major title and fourth career victory on the LPGA Tour . Park rolled in birdie putts on both playoff holes , the second one dropping in at the par 4 , 16th hole after a 20-minute weather delay . As she hugged her caddie , David Jones , Park showed an outpouring of emotion that hasn ’ t been seen in her previous wins . She cried openly on her caddie ’ s shoulder as all the frustrations of three missed cuts in her last four starts poured out . Park recorded the only bogey-free round on Sunday at Kemper Lakes Golf Club , carding a 3-under par , 69 to force a playoff . She didn ’ t make a single bogey on the back nine all week . When she rolled in a long birdie putt at the par 4 , 14th hole to pull within one of Ryu , she let her fist fly . It was the most emotion she had displayed all week . Park fist pumped again at the par 4 , 16th hole after chopping her ball out of knee high grass in order to make , what would end up being , a critical up and down from near the water just short of the green . It was the highlight of the championship and evoked memories of another great Korean , Se Ri Pak , who 20-years-ago hit a shot barefoot from a similar lie and inspired a nation . Park ’ s par save seemed omniscient , as Ryu found the water off the tee at the par 3 , 17th hole and made double-bogey to drop back into a tie with Park . At the 72nd hole Park let a birdie putt slide by that would have given her the outright win . Park is just the third Korean to win the KPMG Women ’ s PGA Championship , joining a short list that includes two of the game ’ s greats in Pak and Inbee Park . The win is Park ’ s second of the season . She won the weather-shortened Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic in May .
56 G o l f P l u s JULY 2018