(Oslo, August 4 2002) England’s Laura Davies notched up the 64th victory of her career by beating a courageous Ana Larrańeta from Spain at the second extra hole in the £220,000 P4 Norwegian Masters at Oslo GolfKlubb.
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| Larraneta – David vs Goliath! |
The six time Solheim Cup star turned in level par 36 and dropped into a tie for the lead after a bogey at the 12th. A birdie at the tricky 14th helped the cause and while Icher was struggling with her final three holes, and Larrańeta, whose round included two birdies and a magnificent eagle at the second hole, waiting expectantly in the clubhouse on five under, Davies’ luck ran out as her tee shot at the par four 17th found the ditch for the second time of the week.
A bogey ensued and the Spaniard, whose best finish on Tour was a tie for fifth at the Biarritz Ladies Classic last season, gawped at the prospect of facing one of the top players in Women’s golf.
“It’s going to be like David and Goliath, I’m going to have to look up at this big tall girl and I’ll be so nervous,” laughed Larrańeta.
In the playoff, both players halved the 18th hole for the first time of asking, with the Spaniard making a six-foot par putt to keep the match alive. But Davies showed her class after the second climb up the steep hill, hitting a “hard wedge” to five feet.
Larraneta had the opportunity to birdie from 18 feet, but her ball bobbled and finished agonisingly short. Davies stepped up calmly and punched the air when her ball dropped for her first win since the 2001 WPGA International Matchplay Championship.
“I’ve managed to keep my record going,” said Davies, who has won in each year of her career since turning professional in 1985.
“I’m not a big fan of playoffs. I could have won a bit earlier, but the bogey at 17 didn’t help. I hit a good tee shot and it just bounced straight back into the ditch and it was always bogey from there.
“I found it quite difficult to make many birdies out there today, the pins were a bit harder, but I’ll take the win even still.
