Drought’s over for elated Kirk
QUEENSLAND golfer Katherine Kirk yesterday snapped a seven-year drought on the LPGA Tour by sliding home a perfect 3m birdie putt on the final hole to win the Thornberry Classic.
The joy gushed from her instantly with hip-high fist pumps and a smile even broader than when she last tasted a triumph in the US in 2010.
This win in Wisconsin means so much more to the likeable pro from Sunrise Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast because there have been moments when she doubted there would be another win on the elite tour.
Over the past few years, she has gone through myriad swing changes, lost and rediscovered her excellent stroke on the greens, married her American husband Tom and seen a wave of young, fearless starlets pass her on tour.
“I can’t put it into words. It’s just a great feeling,” Kirk said beside the final green with her eyes moistening.
“(It’s taken) so much hard work and patience and I had a rough couple of years like 2015 and 2016.”
Kirk entered the final round leading by four shots, set up by her superb nine-under-par 63 in the second round.
It was a mixed bag through the opening 10 holes with three birdies and as many bogeys while South African playing partner Ashleigh Buhai pushed hard on her way to a fine 67.
There was only a one-shot margin between the pair when Kirk made a bogey from the bunker on the par three 17th.
Kirk needed to hook a final iron to the closing green to avoid a large tree and did so perfectly. Buhai kept the Aussie honest with a superb shot to inside a metre for a certain birdie and a tying play if Kirk missed her putt.
“To be honest, I hit a really low spot around the 14th where I said ‘I need something to happen here’, because I was just struggling,’’ Kirk said.
Kirk finished with a twounder 70 and at 22-under for the tournament.
After finishing second at the Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast in 2015, she missed 12 cuts when she hit the LPGA Tour in the US that year.