(Porthcawl, August 25 2003) Shani Waugh from Australia ended a dramatic final day with an even more dramatic final putt at Royal Porthcawl GC to win the £60,000 first prize at the Wales WPGA Championship of Europe next to the shores of Rest bay on the Bristol Channel.
Waugh with her £60,000 trophy |
Sunday night was a close facsimile for the bubbly Aussie and with Nilsmark showing little improvement or mobility, Waugh entered the final round with just four hours sleep, but with experience in abundance after a 12 year career, she used every ounce of it to fend off some strong challenges.
“All of that was distracting from my golf, which was great as it kept my mind off the game and that really helped a lot,” said Waugh, who is also part of Nilsmark’s back room team at The Solheim Cup in three weeks time.
“It’s been such a long time. I really needed this to prove I could do it again. I lost to Se Ri Pak in Atlanta this year at the Chick-Fil-A and I felt as if I should have won there.
“But winning anywhere in the world feels the same whether it’s Europe, Australia or America.”
Brewerton, who confirmed her intention to turn professional later this season, was magnanimous in defeat and credited Waugh, despite being denied a win on the second occasion in a professional event.
“The whole week was absolutely fantastic,” said Brewerton, who finished runner up to Esterl in the Tenerife Ladies Open in May.
“I really thought I had a chance there at the end. Shani’s putt wasn’t the easiest and I was thinking about a playoff, but all credit to her for holing it, it was pretty extraordinary stuff.”
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