Stacy Lee Bregman carried the South African flag in Queensland, Australia, on Sunday, when she finished in a group of seven for a 37th-equal position in the ANZ Ladies Masters, the third event of the 2008 Ladies European Tour, for her career best result on the international stage.
Bregman’s success was in the low total of eight bogies conceded in her three rounds, the four birdies on days one and three with another two in the middle securing her the two-under par total of 214 for her efforts, a mere eight shots of tournament champ, England’s Lisa Hall.
Her achievements were highlighted further by shooting her greens in regulation 72% of the time, placing her in the top 15 golfers of the weekend, and just outside of the top 10 golfers, with 10 birdies in the event, when only four golfers sunk more than 12 in their games.
South African partner Ashleigh Simons, by contrast, had a weekend to forget, when she failed to make the cut after the first two rounds by eight shots, carding a two-over 74 after a first-round 78, from which a return turned out to be impossible.
Tournament champion Hall fired a six-under-par 66 to take a one stroke victory, coming from one stroke behind three overnight leaders Hyun Ju Shin, Tamie Durdin, and the defending champion Karrie Webb, to post a three round winning total of 13-under-par 203.
Hall, playing in the penultimate three-ball, had posted her score as Shin stood on the 18th tee tied for the lead on 13 under. Hoping for a play-off, Hall watched from the back of the 18th green as Shin, from South Korea, putted.
Shin had a 25 foot birdie chance for the title, but left it four feet short, and then missed the second putt, effectively handing Hall the title.
"It was shocking," said the 40-year-old Hall, who is originally from Stoke-on-Trent. "It wasn’t shocking in that she didn’t make it because in golf anything can happen but at that point it was the realisation that I had won.
"I certainly thought I’d be in a play-off. In golf all sorts of things can happen so I was on the lucky end of it today I think. I wouldn’t wish badly on her (Shin), but I was quite relieved that it didn’t go in."
Shin was tied for the lead with Webb after five holes in the final round and was the outright leader until Hall rolled in a 12 foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th hole to tie for the lead.
The 27-year-old Shin, a two time winner on the LPGA of Japan, dropped into second place after three putting the 18th, which was only her third bogey all week. She signed for a third successive 68 and finished on 12-under-par in total.
Speaking through an interpreter a tearful Shin said: "Over the three days I never missed a short putt. There was so much pressure, but it was a bad stroke."
She added: "The first time I played when I was 13 years old was when I came to Australia. I really wanted a victory but I’m happy to be second."
England’s Felicity Johnson fired a tournament best of seven-under-par 65 in the final round to share third with Sweden’s Louise Stahle, who had a 67.
Johnson said: "I didn’t make any bogeys, which was key today. It was a lot more windy this afternoon than it was yesterday. It was playing a bit tougher. I was trying to keep the ball in play, hit the right spots on the greens and just try and avoid three putts."
Defending champion Webb was aiming to make history as the only player to have won a Ladies European Tour event seven times, but it was not to be.
The MFS Women’s Australian Open champion took a one stroke lead after an eagle at the par three third-hole but eventually signed for a 70 to finish in fifth place on ten-under-par.
"Obviously I’m very disappointed not to have given myself a better chance today," said Webb. "I really struggled with my driver all week and struggled again up until the last couple of holes. I put some drives on it but it was just too late. I think I worked it out with two holes to go."
Hall, who resides in West Palm Beach, Florida with her husband, golf coach Martin Hall, admitted that she felt lucky all week.
She said: "We went to the casino earlier this week on Tuesday and 11 is my number. We walked in and went to the roulette table and 11 was the first one in. I said to (my caddie) Mardi: "We’re going to win the tournament." We knew the result before the week started."
Hall won twice on the Ladies European Tour last year, in Northern Ireland and in Denmark, but she admitted that claiming her fourth LET victory was a huge achievement.
"To shoot six under in the last round and beat Karrie Webb in Australia, it’s got to be high up there. I had two wins last year, both in play-offs and both very different. One was an eight-hole play-off and one was just one hole. I think with how I played the whole day and how the end result happened I don’t think it could get much better than that," she said.
By virtue of her victory, Hall has now qualified to play in this month’s HSBC Champions’ event in Singapore. But first, she may re-visit the casino.
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