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| December 17, 2006 | Sunday | Ziqa'ad 25, 1427 |
Women golf: Asia grab two-point lead against Internationals
SINGAPORE, Dec 16: Asia shone with the putter to take a two-point cushion into the final day of the Lexus Cup, winning four of Saturday's six four-ball matches against the Internationals for a 7-5 lead in the team match play event.
Tied 3-3 overnight, Asia rallied after losing two of the first three matches to leave them needing just five and a half points from Sunday's 12 singles matches to gain revenge for last year's 16-8 mauling in the inaugural tournament.
“I am so proud of my team,” Team Asia captain Grace Park told reporters.
“They obviously played very well with a lot of energy, which is huge. We are all excited.”
The day had started well for Swedish world number one Annika Sorenstam's team, the Internationals skipper pairing up with in-form American Natalie Gulbis to win two-up against South Korea's Meena Lee and Lee Jee-young.
Gulbis did not drop a shot all day around the picturesque Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden Course, chipping in for an eagle-two on the 16th and sinking a monster birdie putt at the last to secure the victory. She made five birdies in total.
Sorenstam would have been even happier to see American Paula Creamer chip to within three feet on the 16th to secure a 3 & 2 victory with compatriot Stacy Prammanasudh over two more Koreans, Ahn Shi-hyun and Kim Joo-mi.
The Internationals led 8-4 entering the singles last year and a similar scoreline looked likely until Team Asia's putters became as hot as the scorching Singapore sun.
Asia skipper Park and Korean compatriot Han Hee-won had been involved in a titanic battle with American teenager Morgan Pressel and Paraguay's Julieta Granada, the match all square heading down the 18th after both pairings had enjoyed two-hole leads earlier in the round.
MOMENTUM SHIFTED
Spurred on by her captain, Han rattled in a 20-foot birdie putt on the final green to snatch a victory that seemed to reinvigorate the Asians as the momentum shifted their way.
Taiwan's Candie Kung and Filipina Jennifer Rosales never looked threatened in their match against Brittany Lincicome and Nikki Campbell, easing to a 3 & 1 victory after the International pair missed a host of short putts on the back nine.
Korean duo Pak Se-ri and Lee Seon-hwa were equally impressive, moving two-up after two holes on their way to a comfortable 4 & 2 win over Sherri Steinhauer and Angela Stanford.
The Asians completed a fantastic afternoon when Young Kim rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt on the last to give her and partner Sakura Yokomine a two-up win over Britain's Laura Davies and Swede Carin Koch.
Sorenstam felt her team played as well as they could but just fell short of their targets.
“A lot of matches went down to 18 so it was a tough day for the International team,” she said.
“Tomorrow is going to be a big day; we have 12 points to reach and need to grab as many as we can.”—Reuters
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