Women’s Golf | Peter Stone Golf

Jessica Korda

Perhaps, in the light of the current drugs in sport controversy in which gambling and possible links with criminals is being investigated, it is inappropriate to recall a betting plunge I made just over 12 months ago at the Australian Ladies Masters at Royal Pines on the Golf Coast.

But, what the hell, and we’ll proceed with the usual warning that gambling can be addictive. Through more than 40 years of writing about golf, I’ve had the occasional flutter on tournaments with precious little success. Just petty cash really, but last year I lashed out. I invested $200 with the Queensland TAB to win just under $10,000 on 18-year-old American Jessica Korda.

Katherine Hull-Kirk

It was, perhaps, a daunting third shot off a barren lie in the vacant stretch of land adjacent to the left side of the 18^th hole at Royal Canberra for Katherine Hull on Sunday in the final round of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open. The high carry over trees of 60 metres and she hit her sand wedge with perfection to just outside a metre.

The resultant birdie gave her a four under par 69 for a 72-hole tally of 11 and tied eighth, seven shots behind the champion Jiyai Shin, but she was the leading Australian against the formidable international challenge.

Michelle Wie

B.J. Wie stood behind the line of players on the Royal Canberra practice range checking the time on his watch and then glancing over his shoulder. His daughter Michelle’s caddie Mark Wallington stood beside him checking the yardage book and pin placement sheet for Friday’s second round of the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

Who’s to guess whether she was running late or not? If she was, it was best she was, as there was no berths left and, on arrival, she was kept waiting for five minutes or so before securing a spot on the far right. To pass the time, she did some back stretching exercises.