Simon wins Women's SA Masters

2006-03-17 22:11

Johannesburg - Celebrated teen amateur Ashleigh Simon has done it again, winning the final event on the 2006 Women's Golf Tour, the Women's SA Masters, at Killarney Golf Club.

After making her first birdie of the final day on the par-five 5th, Simon settled into her round, and went on to birdie the 6th and 7th holes, but bogeyed the 8th where she hit the ball right off the tee, and then regrouped to birdie the tough par-four 9th to go 3-under at the turn.

Simon felt she then just had to grind out the back nine and make one or two birdies, after joint overnight leader Florence Luscher of Switzerland started to stage a comeback with three consecutive birdies.

Striking the ball really well, Simon went on to play the back nine better than she had the whole week.

She played a strategic game, holding her round together until the 17th when she dropped a shot and it began to look as though she was facing a playoff.

But it was Luscher who stumbled on the last, allowing Simon the relatively simple task of making par for victory.

Luscher's nerves set in

Earlier Luscher had picked up only one birdie on the front nine and had double dropped on the 6th. After a birdie and a par on the 11th and 12th holes, things started to look up for Luscher, as she birdied the next three holes.

Then the nerves set in, and she dropped on the 16th and double-bogeyed the final hole, leaving her in fourth place, 5-under par for the tournament.

South Africa's Mandy Adamson, who has played the entire Tour with a broken toe, carded four birdies and two eagles in the final round, to finish tied second with England's Kirsty Fisher just one shot back from Simon on 6-under par for the tournament.

England's Rebecca Hudson who had finished second at the Ladies International and the Women's Classic, with her rookie win at the Women's SA Open, now tops the 2006 Order of Merit.

Hudson finished the tournament tied fifth with South Africa's Laurette Maritz on 4-under par.

Amateur and member of the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation, Kelli Shean, who led the field after the first round of the Women's SA Open two weeks ago, had the best round of the day today with a 67, to finish the tournament in seventh position.

Helena Alterby finished top of the Kingswood Golf Estate Birdie Table, with 59 points and took home a further R2 000.

- SAPA